Old Mutual Wealth’s chief executive has called the pension freedoms a “shot of adrenaline” for financial services as it reported a 16 per cent rise in gross sales in the first quarter of 2015 to £4.6bn boosted by pension sales.
Funds under management were £102.3bn at the end of the quarter, helped by its acquisition of Quilter Cheviot during the period, which added £17.5bn, although excluding acquisitions FUM increased 5 per cent from the year end.
Old Mutual Wealth revealed that net client cash flow in the first quarter was 9 per cent lower than the prior year at £1bn.
The company saw increased demand for financial advice during the first three months of the year ahead of the pension reforms in April, with pension and annuity sales up 23 per cent at Intrinsic compared to the first quarter of 2014.
Paul Feeney, chief executive of Old Mutual Wealth, said: “The pension freedoms have been like a shot of adrenaline to the financial services industry. Even before they were introduced we saw increased demand for financial advice, flexible pension products and packaged investment solutions as people got ready for the changes.”
Sales of fund ranges at Old Mutual Global Investors (OMGI) were “strong”, as it confirmed gross sales up 5 per cent on last year to £2.6bn, while funds under management climbed to £22.5bn in the first quarter, representing 22 per cent of funds under management at Old Mutual Wealth.
Net client cash flow in OMGI fell 27 per cent to £0.8bn in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the prior year, when the first quarter of 2014 included a £180m segregated mandate inflow and £305m seeding of its Foundation fund range.
In OMGI, 60 per cent of core funds are in the first quartile over a three-year period and 84 per cent of funds delivered investment performance that above median.
Mr Feeney added: “One thing that is very clear is that we will continue to see strong demand for financial advice this year as people embrace new and more flexible ways of funding the later parts of their lives.”
