30th Apr 2019 08:54
LONDON (Alliance News) - St James's Place PLC on Tuesday reported a rise in funds under management in the first quarter, showing its "resilience" despite the current "political and macro-economic uncertainty".
St James's Place first-quarter closing funds under management stood at GBP103.52 billion, which represents a 15% increase on a year before and an 8.3% increase from December 31.
In the three months to March 31, the wealth manager reported net inflows of GBP2.18 billion.
St James's Place also recorded a positive net investment return of GBP5.79 billion in the quarter.
"We have experienced a good start to the year, attracting GBP3.61 billion of gross inflows which, together with continued strong retention, has resulted in net inflows equating to 2.3% of opening funds under management, and 9.1% on an annualised basis. This performance demonstrates the resilience of our business through the current political and macro-economic uncertainty," said Chief Executive Andrew Croft.
All three of St James's Place fund classes increased in the quarter.
The company's Investment funds closed the period 5.5% higher at GBP29.15 billion. St James's Place Pension funds under management increased 10% to GBP44.86 billion. The wealth manager's Unit Trust/ISA & Discretionary Fund Management class ended the quarter 8.5% higher at GBP29.51 billion.
The three classes all saw net inflows but primarily were buoyed by a strong net investment return.
Croft added: "Whilst uncertainty will inevitably impact investor sentiment from time to time, it does not change the long-term needs of individuals. There remains both a growing market for trusted face-to-face advice in the UK and an advice gap that represents a major opportunity for us. Given the scale and quality of the St James's Place partnership we are confident of both the resilience of the business in more difficult times and our ability to continue to grow the business over the medium to long term."
Shares in the FTSE 100-listed wealth manager were down 0.3% Tuesday morning at 1,131.50 pence each.
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