Wealth investment firm reports drop in funds under management

Wealth management firm Brooks Macdonald has seen a drop in its funds under management (FUM) for the third quarter of its finacial year to 31 March.

FUM at the quarter end totalled £12.2bn, down from £13.1 as of 31 December 2019. The firm said that despite the steep market decline caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, its investment performance was “robust”, with portfolios declining by 14.1% (£1.8 bn), compared to the MSCI WMA Private Investor Balanced Index decline of 15.2%.

Caroline Connellan, chief executive of Brooks Macdonald, said: “Our immediate priority in these unprecedented times has been protecting the health and safety of our staff while ensuring we continue to provide excellent service to our clients and advisers.

“I am proud of how our people are responding to the crisis, moving quickly to home-working in support of the government’s social distancing measures, while staying focused on communicating with and providing reassurance to our clients in these exceptionally volatile markets.

“While the scale and duration of the current disruption are unknown, we remain optimistic about the medium term outlook for Brooks Macdonald. Given our focus on clients and advisers, our actions in response to the crisis, and our continuing strategic execution, we are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities once the worst of the COVID-19 crisis is past.”