M&G Investments saw another £3.5bn of net retail outflows in the final quarter of 2015 as negative sentiment on bonds took further toll on the business.
According to parent company Prudential’s results, M&G’s total net outflows from retail clients hit £10.9bn last year.
The firm’s institutional business, however, continued to see positive flows throughout the year.
Overall retail assets under management at the end of last year dropped to £60.8bn ¬ £14.9bn down on the start of 2015 ¬ with UK clients accounting for £35.7bn.
UK clients accounted for 58.8 per cent of M&G’s retail business at the end of 2015, a rise in share of 4.1 percentage points from 2014.
The £3.5bn of net outflows in the final quarter was only a slight respite, falling by £438m from Q3 and by £475m from Q2.
Despite the outflows, M&G’s operating profit for the year totalled £442m, down just 1 per cent from a year previous.
Mike Wells, Prudential Group chief executive, said: “After a period of exceptional growth, M&G had a more challenging year with retail net outflows more than offsetting positive flows from institutional new business.
“As a result total funds under management declined by 7 per cent to £246.1 billion. Despite this, IFRS operating profit of £442m was broadly in line with last year reflecting actions on costs.”