InvestmentsJul 27 2018

Mattioli Woods rated as 'outstanding' investment

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Mattioli Woods rated as 'outstanding' investment

Wealth management business Mattioli Woods has been nominated as a firm with "outstanding prospects" by an investment manager, who holds shares in the firm.

Chris Hutchinson, who jointly runs a range of small and mid cap focused investment funds at Unicorn Asset Management, said he has been invested in the company for more than a decade and believes in its further potential for growth.

He said: "What I like is they are based in Leicester, and what you often find with financial services businesses based outside of London is they try harder.

"Mattioli Woods started off as a pensions business and it has made some good acquisitions, including the Amati fund management business and an employee benefits business, so it is well diversified now, and well run."

Mr Hutchinson said he has some reservations about Mattioli Woods having launched a structured products fund, as he feels those products are particularly complicated and that may have implications for the business. 

But Ian Lowes, who runs Lowes Financial Management in Newcastle and is a long term advocate of structured products, said the number of such products to produce a loss for clients has been very low in recent years. 

As FTAdviser previously reported, Mattioli Woods has recently withdrawn from providing pension transfer advice, citing the cost of insurance. 

But Philip Milton of Philip Milton and Co, an advice firm in Devon, said the state of the transfers market was such Mattioli Woods could be the first of many firms to take this course of action. 

Mr Hutchinson also bought the Integrafin business, the parent company of the Transact platform, when it came to market via an initial public offering (IPO) in February.

Mr Hutchinson said he views Transact as being "one of the two or three platforms" that will emerge in a strong position when the consolidation, that is a current feature of the industry, is complete.

He said this made the shares attractive, but he said the share price has gained about 90 per cent since the company floated, and this has prompted him to place the stock under review, meaning he is contemplating selling it.

In its most recent update to the market, the company reported a 7 per cent rise in assets under management for the three months to the end of March.

Oliver Brown, investment director at RC Brown Investment Management, is another fund manager who recently invested in IntegraFin shares.

He said the company had the capacity to "get on with things" regardless of what happens to the wider economy.

david.thorpe@ft.com