7th Jan 2016 08:09
LONDON (Alliance News) - Rathbone Brothers PLC on Thursday said it will "more frequently" review the "timing and priority" of its projects as long as financial markets remain "subdued", although the British wealth manager committed itself to pursuing its growth objectives.
Financial markets have made a rocky start to 2016 due to weak data giving cause for concern about the Chinese economy, while geopolitical tensions and low oil prices have contributed to broader investor jitters. Despite subdued financial markets, Rathbone Brothers said it still has an "appetite" for acquisitions, and views 2016 with "cautious optimism".
Rathbone said its total funds under management amounted to GBP29.2 billion at the end of 2015, up 5.8% from the GBP27.6 billion recorded three months earlier and up 7.4% from the GBP27.2 billion seen at the end of 2014.
Net inflows to the group's main subsidiary, Rathbone Investment Management, amounted to GBP368 million in the fourth quarter, taking the total for the year to GBP1.4 billion, and helping the division's funds under management to rise by 5.7% to GBP26.1 billion over the course of that year.
By way of comparison, Rathbone said the FTSE 100 index of the largest listed companies in London decreased 4.9% and the FTSE WMA Balanced Index decreased 0.2% over the same period.
The underlying rate of net organic growth in funds under management in Rathbone Investment Management for fourth quarter was 3.7% versus 2.1% the corresponding quarter the prior year. For the year as a whole, the rate fell to 3.0% from 4.0%.
Funds managed by Rathbone's unit trust business were GBP3.1 billion at the end of 2015, 24% from GBP2.5 billion one year earlier, boosted by net inflows of GBP371 million for the full year.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Rathbone