FUMA edged up 2.5% during the third quarter, from £24.3bn at the end of September to £24.9bn.
The wealth manager said the growth in FUMA was chiefly down to “encouraging inflows” into its higher margin discretionary arm, which saw £200m of new client money and another £200m from clients transferring from its advisory services.
This movement helped offset the £300m in redemptions the discretionary arm recorded over the period. However, the London Stock Exchange-listed manager still ended the third quarter with net outflows of £100m, after factoring in the £200m it lost from its advisory services.
Its direct to consumer (D2C) platform Charles Stanley Direct also continued to outperform during the quarter, with execution only funds swelling from £8.3bn to £8.6bn. Year-to-date, the D2C platform has brought in £4.2m in revenue, up 31% from 2016.
Total group revenues were up 7.4% year-to-date, from £104.1m to £111.8m. Its investment management services accounted for the greatest portion of total revenue, bringing in £97.6m, 7% higher than the year prior.
Paul Abberley, chief executive of Charles Stanley (pictured), said: “Trading conditions in Q3 were consistent with the performance seen in the first half of the financial year with a continued transition to higher margin fee-based revenues, favourable market conditions and stable cost control.”
