Charles Stanley and Brooks Macdonald both reported an increase in assets under management during the first three months of the year, despite the pressures of Covid-19 and the associated lockdown.
Charles Stanley said it was “cautiously optimistic” that the worst of the pandemic is over after reporting a 2% increase in funds under management (FUM) during the first three months of the year.
The wealth manager’s funds under management and administration (FUMA) increased from £25.1bn at the end of December 2020 to £25.6bn at the end of March.
It said positive market performance added £500m to the figure which compared favourably to a 1.6% increase in the MSCI Pimfa Private Investor Balanced Index over the same period.
Average FUMA over the financial year to 31 March 2021 was £23.2bn, a 4.1% decrease from the previous financial year. Charles Stanley said this drop reflected the “stressed market conditions” during the pandemic.
Charles Stanley chief executive Paul Abberley (pictured) said: “Charles Stanley has delivered a notably resilient performance since the onset of Covid-19 just over a year ago. Revenues have held up well across all divisions, supported by our focus on excellent client service, and costs have been well controlled.
“We are cautiously optimistic that the worst of the pandemic is behind us and we expect to make further progress in the year ahead.”
Charles Stanley is due to publish its audited preliminary results for the financial year ended 31 March 2021 on 27 May.
Brooks Macdonald MPS helps firm see marginal inflow
Brooks Macdonald’s total funds under management (FUM) increased 0.9% during the first quarter of the year helped by inflows to its model portfolio service.
FUM climbed marginally over the quarter, from £15.5bn at the end of December 2020 to £15.6bn at the end of March.
In the UK investment management (UKIM) discretionary business, MPS saw net inflows of 7.1% driven by its investment solutions and platform MPS arms.
The bespoke portfolio service saw £26m of outflows but £134m gained from market movements
The funds business saw outflows of 3.4%, mainly from the Defensive Capital Fund, which Brooks Macdonald said “continued to reflect negative trends in the Targeted Absolute Return sector”. However, outflows were lower than in the previous two quarters.
Overall flows into the UKIM business increased by 0.3%.
The international business, meanwhile, saw outflows of 3.1%.
Total investment performance was 1.1% during the quarter, falling slightly short of the MSCI Pimfa Private Investor Balanced Index’s 1.6% increase.
For the financial year to date, however, investment performance was 10.8%, ahead of the benchmark index which was up 8.2%.
Brooks Macdonald chief executive Caroline Connellan said: “It has been another quarter of delivery against our strategy evidenced by good performance in our core UKIM business, the continued positive trend in overall net flows, and a healthy pipeline.
“This momentum is testament to our people and I am once again grateful to them for their relentless commitment to delivering for intermediaries and clients in challenging circumstances. We remain on track to achieve full year expectations and we are well positioned to continue delivering sustainable, value-enhancing growth.”
