Net inflows at advice firm St James's Place fell slightly in the third quarter of this year, despite the wealth manager maintaining it is witnessing a growing demand for financial advice.
In a trading update published today (October 22) SJP reported its net inflows had fallen to £2.1bn in the three months to the end of September, down from £2.5bn in the same period last year.
Despite this the wealth manager hit a record £112.8bn in funds under management, up from £100.6bn in the same month last year, as chief executive Andrew Croft celebrated a "good quarter" in an "uncertain external environment".
Mr Croft said: "In the three months to the end of September, new and existing clients entrusted us with £3.7bn of new funds.
"Through the excellent work of our partners and their staff in building and maintaining close relationships with clients, we are also able to report continued strong retention, resulting in net inflows for the quarter of £2.1bn, equivalent to 7.7 per cent of opening funds under management on an annualised basis."
Mr Croft said while "political and macro-economic uncertainty" may occasionally affect the pace of some discretionary investment flows, the chief executive maintained it had "no bearing on the continuing need for holistic, long-term financial planning".
He added: "Indeed, we see demand for sound, personal and trusted financial advice growing while at the same time the 'advice gap' remains."
Last year SJP saw a similar slowdown in inflows towards the end of the calendar year, which weakened in the final two months of 2018 as the advice giant warned its clients and advisers were not immune to difficult external market factors.
In its annual results published in February SJP reported an increase in profits despite "challenging" external market factors, but again admitted inflows had been offset by weaker investment markets.
rachel.mortimer@ft.com
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