InvestmentsJul 26 2019

Adviser consolidation dents Nucleus Aum

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Adviser consolidation dents Nucleus Aum

Outflows were higher than expected at the Nucleus platform in the second quarter of 2019 due to adviser consolidation, according to the company's chief executive David Ferguson.

The company had outflows of £377m in the three months to the end of June 2019, and while those were offset by inflows of £488m, Mr Ferguson acknowledged that the level of outflows was higher than anticipated.

He said: “Outflows remain higher than expected, primarily due to increased outflows from a small number of firms that have been acquired by consolidators.”   

Nucleus reported assets under administration for the three months to the end of June 2019 of £15.3bn, an increase of 6.9 per cent on the previous quarter, driven largely by positive market movements.

Mr Ferguson said he intends to spend more cash on enhancing the platform this year, as assets under administration and user numbers have risen.

At the end of June the company had 95,657 customers, an increase of 4.7 per cent. 

Mr Ferguson said: “The change to our technology model in November 2018 increased our change velocity.

"In Q2 we have delivered a substantially improved pensions and drawdown capability, alongside a new stockbroking service that brings significantly reduced trading costs for clients, and completed our Mifid II regulatory costs and charges disclosure.

"Having delivered a number of propositional changes in the first half of the year, we intend to continue to build on this momentum with a series of further enhancements that will improve service delivery and operational resilience.”

Nucleus' shares have fallen from £3.43 to £3 over the past year. 

david.thorpe@ft.com