WH Ireland discretionary assets break £1bn mark

twitter-iconfacebook-iconlinkedin-iconmail-iconprint-icon
Search supported by
WH Ireland discretionary assets break £1bn mark

WH Ireland has continued to see its discretionary assets climb since the start of this year, overshooting the £1bn mark last month. 

According to an update published today (30 March), WH Ireland saw its total assets under management jump by 4 per cent between December and February to hit £3bn.

Of this total, discretionary assets have continued to rise, amounting to £1.1bn at the end of February, which is an increase of over 8 per cent since the end of the firm’s financial year.

This rise in assets comes despite the group making an overall loss over the course of 2016.

Tim Steel, chairman of WH Ireland, referred to a statement he made back in November where he said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the year ahead, but said the wealth planning team had “performed well” during the three-month period.

The statement also noted that the private wealth management arm is currently in the process of shifting its operational platform to SEI, which it expects to be effective from May.

Last year WH Ireland's chief executive Richard Killingbeck said independent wealth management businesses needed assets of at least £5bn, meaning his company would need to grow.

The company is also undergoing a strategic shift away from traditional stockbroking towards more holistic wealth management.

The corporate broking division has seen a significant increase in client activity, and the WH Ireland chairman noted the secondary fund raisings, including a £48m placing for CareTech Holdings last week.

“We believe that the strong mandated pipeline in this division bodes well for the year ahead,” he said.

The corporate broking division is now led by Adam Pollock, who joined this month from Zeus Capital, and Mr Steel added: “Under his leadership we look forward to further growth in the client base and activity across this division.”

katherine.denham@ft.com