Higher fee income from the financial advice and platform businesses has boosted revenue at Charles Stanley, despite a fall in funds under management and administration.
For the three months to December 31, 2018, the company reported revenue growth of 0.3 per cent, compared with the previous quarter, with a 26.7 per cent increase in revenue from financial planning and a 27.3 per cent increase in revenue from the Charles Stanley Direct platform offsetting declines in other areas.
Total income for the year to the end of December was £115m, compared with £111m under the same measure in 2017.
The discretionary fund management (DFM) business attracted net inflows of £200m in the three months to the end of December 2018, but sharp market movements meant overall group funds under management and administration fell by 8 per cent.
By December the company had total assets under administration and management of £22.8bn, compared with £25bn at the end of September.
The information was contained in a trading update released to the market this morning (January 17).
Paul Abberley, chief executive of the business, said: "Despite difficult market conditions, which have had a significant negative impact on headline funds under management and administration, I am pleased to report that we continued to win new discretionary mandates and that financial planning and Charles Stanley Direct delivered strong increases in revenues.
"We will continue to invest in scaling these divisions as part of our holistic wealth management proposition."
david.thorpe@ft.com
