FTSE 100 money managers Schroders and St James’s Place both boosted assets in the first quarter as investor confidence increased on the back on positive Covid vaccine news.
SJP enjoyed a record quarter for the first three months of 2021, with £2.9bn of net inflows, up 22%, taking the total funds under management to £135.5bn. FUM was £101.7bn at the end of March 2020.
The FUM retention rate for the year increased slightly, from 95.4% to 95.8%.
SJP chief executive Andrew Croft (pictured) said: ” The moderate growth in new business that we saw in the early weeks of 2021 gathered pace through the quarter as confidence improved and clients sought to commit accumulated savings to longer-term investments.”
Croft added strong activity linked to tax year-end planning also helped the firm record “exceptional” new business performance in March.
The firm’s discretionary investment manager Rowan Dartington’s group FUM stood at £2.98bn at the end of March, gross inflows of £130m outweighed £50m of outflows. At the end of March 2020, FUM was £2.32bn.
Schroders adds £9bn to AUM
Meanwhile, Schroders’ assets under management grew by £9bn during the first three months of the year, taking the group total to £672bn.
Assets in its asset management business jumped to £510.1bn, from £502.4bn at the end of 2020, while wealth management increased only slightly from £72bn to £72.8bn.
Assets in joint ventures also increased from £88.6bn to £89.1bn.
See also: Schroders Personal Wealth sees investors yank £200m in 2020
