Quilter’s assets under management and administration (AUMA) on 30 September were £96.9bn, having declined 2% in the three months to that date.
The FTSE 250 wealth manager’s share price fell in the wake of the publication of its third quarter results from 91p to sit at nearly 89p per share at 4pm after staging a small comeback after lunch. Its share price, however, remains 48% below the £1.73 it commanded at the start of the year.
Increasing market volatility and cost-of-living pressures have made life difficult for companies this year, but it still managed to secure net inflows into its affluent and high net worth business divisions during Q3.
Having said this, net inflows did fall between the second and third quarters, from £0.3bn to £0.2bn. This compares with £1bn of net inflows during the same three-month period in 2021.
In Quilter’s affluent segment, which encompasses its main financial planning business, investment platform and multi-asset solutions business, market forces contributed to a £2.5bn drop in AUMA, subsuming the £58m gain from net flows. All told, AUMA for the segment had fallen to £72.7bn by the end of the period.
The high net worth segment, which includes Quilter Cheviot, its DFM business, and Quilter Private Client Advisers, suffered marginal losses in Q3. It started the quarter managing £25.2bn and ended it with £24.9bn, in spite of £222m of inflows.
In the nine months to the end of September, AUMA has fallen by an eye-watering 13%, from £111.8bn on 31 December 2021. Net inflows of £1.6bn could do little in the face of the volatile nature of this year’s economic market.
Quilter’s CEO Paul Feeney (pictured), said: “While we are living through uncertain times, our business is well positioned to win in the UK wealth market. I am pleased that we continue to deliver positive net flows even through the quietist quarter of this unprecedented year. The Quilter channel, in particular, has continued to deliver robust flows to our platform and the high net worth segment has continued to deliver a resilient performance.
“Over the last decade, my focus has been on building a modern integrated wealth manager that is strategically positioned in the largest, secular growth market in UK financial services. I am delighted to be handing on such a business to my successor, Steven [Levin}, and I am confident in Quilter’s potential and ability to drive growth and deliver efficiency. The strength of our advice-based model means we are well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities ahead, even in tough markets.”
Feeney is set to step down as CEO at the end of this month having spent 10 years in the role.
