Quilter, the British multinational wealth company, said yesterday that it had put in a resilient performance in the fourth quarter despite a seasonal slowdown and lower net flows.
“Although net flows for 2022 were below the level we want to achieve, we finished the year on a solid note despite the usual seasonal slowdown towards the end of the quarter. I was particularly pleased with the performance from our high net worth segment, which has continued to deliver a robust performance, with good flows from the Quilter channel offsetting a slowdown in IFA flows,” CEO Stephen Levin said.
He commented at the release of a trading statement for the fourth quarter, a period of relative economic decline and rising interest rates and inflation in developed markets. The full results are expected to be released on March 8.
On the JSE, the share price slipped 1.84% to R20.29 yesterday afternoon.
Assets under management and administration (AuMA) of £99.6 billion (R2.1trillion) at the end of December 2022 increased 3% from September 30, 2022, reflecting a modest pick-up in equity markets and slightly lower bond yields in the final quarter.
Average AuMA for the fourth quarter of £98.8bn (4th quarter 2021: £110.0bn) was in line with the third quarter average of £100.1bn, but below the first half average of £105.3bn.
Net inflows of £159m were well below £950m of net inflows in the same quarter a year before, and below £236m in the third quarter.
There was a solid performance from the Quilter channel with gross platform flows of £594m (£691m), and adviser productivity was stable.
Total Quilter channel quarterly net inflows fell to £513m from £584m, reflecting lower levels of new business.
Gross flows from the IFA channel were “resilient”, the company said, with net flows impacted by adviser consolidation across the market.
“We remain focused on attracting new firms to our UK platform and continue to make good progress in that regard,” the company said.
There had been a pleasing performance from the high net worth segment, with moderately lower gross flows and stable retention leading to net flows for the quarter of £158m (2021: £282m).
Levin said the Quilter channel delivered consistent flows to the platform and had maintained steady productivity throughout the year.
“The level of gross new IFA flows onto our platform remains good relative to peers given the market context and overall customer drawdowns remain in-line with historical trends,” he said.
He said net flows had been impacted by heightened adviser consolidation across the market.
“We continued to grow the base of IFAs using our market-leading platform in the quarter and expect incremental flows from this source to build over time,” he said.
BUSINESS REPORT