Quilter’s net inflows stood at £313mn for the first quarter of the year, down from £1.05bn in the same period the previous year.
In a trading update today (April 25), the firm said the decrease of 70 per cent reflected the period prior to the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
However, Quilter said the Q1 2023 net flows were nearly double the Q4 2022 level of £159mn.
Assets under management and administration stood at £101.9bn at the end of March 2023, an increase of 2 per cent from December 31, 2022.
Yet this was still a fall of 5 per cent year-on-year from Q1 2022 when AUMA was £107.2bn.
The firm said this reflected net inflows and a modest pick-up in equity markets and slightly lower bond yields in the quarter.
Average AUMA for the first quarter of £101.8bn remained modestly below the 2022 full year average of £102.8bn.
Steven Levin, chief executive officer of Quilter plc, said: “I am pleased with the trends we have seen in our first quarter flows. From a low base around the end of the year, each subsequent month has demonstrated an improvement on the prior period.
“There is good momentum in our business. In-flows in the Quilter channel remain strong, with continued double digit net flows as a percentage of opening AUMA in both our high net worth and affluent segments.
“The pleasing improvement in IFA flows onto our UK platform was supported by modestly higher activity around tax-year end.”
Affluent IFA channel gross flows were higher quarter-on-quarter at £1.3bn, up from £1bn in Q4 2022.
The firm said this more than offset redemptions leading to net flows of £83mn, up from -£103mn in Q4 2022.
Quilter said it remains focused on attracting new IFA firms to its UK platform and continues to make good progress in that regard.
Elsewhere, the high net worth segment delivered an increase of 28 per cent in gross flows to £627mn, up from £489mn in Q4 2022, although higher redemptions led to net flows for the quarter of £70mn (Q4 2022: £158mn).
Levin said: “We remain cautiously optimistic that, over the course of 2023, we will continue to see a gradual return of investor confidence and improving market levels.
“Our expectation is that this will support an improvement in flows over the course of the year.”
He added: “We are confident in the fundamental outlook for our business. As I said with the full year results, my focus is on building distribution, enhancing our propositions, and driving efficiency to deliver improved profitability, and that is what we are doing.
“I look forward to updating the market further on our cost and operational plans to accelerate Quilter’s growth momentum at our interim results in August.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
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