Evelyn PartnersJan 31 2023

Evelyn Partners recoups £1bn as income hits ‘record’ level

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Evelyn Partners recoups £1bn as income hits ‘record’ level
Evelyn Partners’ group chief executive, Chris Woodhouse, said a combination of strong new business inflows and growth in operating income underpinned a better final quarter for the business

Evelyn Partners, previously Tilney Smith & Williamson, managed to recoup £1bn in assets in the final quarter of last year after market declines earlier in the year wiped £5bn off its balance sheet.

The national advice firm ended the year with £53bn in assets, up from £52bn at the end of September. 

In a quarterly update published today (January 31), Evelyn Partners’ group chief executive, Chris Woodhouse, said a combination of strong new business inflows and growth in operating income underpinned a better final quarter, which also saw markets begin to ease.

For the quarter, net inflows totalled £625mn, growing overall assets by 4 per cent. An uplift in markets also boosted assets by a further £400mn.

In the first half of 2022, market declines had led to a 8.7 per cent fall in Evelyn Partners’ assets.

A number of wealth managers suffered from volatile markets in the first half of 2022 as rising inflation, geopolitical tensions and the shadow of a recession destabilised markets.

“We ended 2022 with continuing strong new business inflows and growth in operating income in Q4,” said Woodhouse.

“This rounded off a year of excellent delivery against our strategy, in which we saw £5.4bn of gross new money won and operating income reach an all-time high of £600.8mn. 

“Our strong performance, against a difficult market backdrop, is testament to the quality and breadth of our advice-led proposition and demonstrates the positive momentum in our financial services and professional services businesses.”

Unlike other national financial planning businesses such as Rathbones and St James’s Place, Evelyn Partners also operates an accountancy business. 

Fees charged through this part of the business are reflected in the group’s operating income.

In the final quarter, operating income reached £158.6mn, up from £144.5mn during the same period in the previous year.

On a full-year basis, operating income rose 7.1 per cent to “a record level” of £600.8mn.

Last year, Evelyn Partners re-launched Bestinvest, its investment service which now offers “bite-sized” advice packages to those clients who do not need to pay for ongoing advice.

The firm has also launched four new multi-asset funds which invest in direct equities and bonds alongside collective investments

“To complement this organic growth and progress, we also continue to explore opportunities to acquire high quality businesses in both the financial advice and professional services sectors where we see a strong strategic and cultural fit,” said Woodhouse.

“I look forward to working with the team to maintain this momentum as we continue with our growth trajectory.”

The company launched its IFA succession programme in 2021.

Evelyn’s strategic partnerships head Richard Dawes told FTAdviser last year that the way the scheme works is the adviser joins one of Evelyn’s offices to oversee the re-homing of their clients. The firm also tries to mirror what the adviser was providing, so does not look to move assets to a different platform.

Earlier this month, the founder of Gavin Tansey Financial Services joined Evelyn Partners' Liverpool office.

ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com