Wealth management firm increases total funds under management

Liverpool wealth management firm Rathbone Brothers said total funds under management and administration at December 31, 2018, were £44.1bn, up 12.8% from the previous year.

That compared with the FTSE 100 Index which decreased 12.5% and the MSCI WMA Private Investor Balanced Index which decreased 7.2% over 2018.

In a trading update for the three months ended December 31, the firm said that, while the final quarter of 2018 reflected weaker investment markets, total year-end funds under management and administration benefited from its recent acquisition of Speirs & Jeffrey.

Net inflows across the group in 2018 totalled £8.5bn, compared with £2.1bn in 2017, which represents 21.6% (2017: 6.0%) of opening funds under management and administration and includes the impact of £6.8bn of acquired funds under management, driven primarily by the acquisition of Speirs and Jeffrey.

Funds under management and administration in investment management were £38.5bn at December 31, up 13.9% from £33.8bn a year ago, including £6.4bn of funds related to Speirs & Jeffrey.

In the fourth quarter, funds under management and administration in investment management decreased by 6.8% from £41.3bn to £38.5bn, primarily reflecting weaker investment markets.

The FTSE 100 decreased 10.4% and the MSCI WMA Private Investor Balanced Index decreased 7.9% during the same period.

Looking ahead, the firm said: “Whilst market conditions can reasonably be expected to be volatile in 2019, we will continue to invest selectively for the longer term in the skills and infrastructure necessary to improve our operational efficiency and deliver high quality services to our clients.”

The Company will issue its preliminary statement of annual results for the year ended December 31, 2018 on Thursday, February 21.