The group reported a loss of £6.1m for the year to March 31 as chief executive Paul Abberley admitted its result “leaves significant room for improvement”.
Charles Stanley confirmed the launch of a strategic review as it revealed total funds under management rose 6 per cent to £21.3bn, while revenues were up 0.5 per cent to £149.7m, but its underlying profit before tax fell from £13.5m to £4.2m.
The group’s actual reported profit turned from a pre-tax profit of £6.1m in 2014 to a loss before tax of £6.1m in 2015.
As part of the restructuring, Charles Stanley’s financial planning staff will be combined into a single financial planning division, it said.
A number of the units that provide specialist asset management products to clients and research support to its investment management division, including PAN Asset Management, Matterley funds and its discretionary fund management service will be “restructured and combined into a single asset management division”.
The group also confirmed the sale of its Securities arm following an exchange of contracts with Panmure Gordon for an initial payment of £1.5m.
Mr Abberley said: “Whilst several of the underlying elements of the results give cause for encouragement, the overall result leaves significant room for improvement.”
He added: “As such, our immediate priorities have been firstly to ensure our staff continue to aim for the highest possible level of client delivery and secondly to address the near term deterioration in profitability.
“Alongside these initiatives, we have refined our strategy to ensure that greater emphasis is placed on developing the core investment management business, while retaining and building only those other activities which directly complement and enhance this core activity.”
