Stock market gains balloon Quilter’s assets to £110.4bn

London-based Quilter, Old Mutual’s former wealth management business, said on Wednesday that stock market gains helped it grow assets under management 13% to £110.4bn during its year to end-December.

The group’s share price rose by a third in 2019, with CEO Paul Feeney saying it has had annual net client cash inflow of £300m for the year, excluding Quilter Life Insurance, reflecting a turnaround during the company’s fourth quarter.

Quilter listed on the JSE and the London Stock Exchange in June 2018, and has not escaped the effects of Brexit. Last year proved to be a strong year for global markets, with the FTSE 100 rising 12.1%, while the tech-heavy US Nasdaq had surged 35%.

The group has also faced Quilter-specific factors, in particular, the loss of a certain cohort of investment managers in Quilter Cheviot in mid-2018. Feeney said on Wednesday that client outflows associated with the investment managers who departed declined to £300m in the quarter to end-December 2019, from £600m in the previous quarter.

“Looking across our businesses, the integration of our advice acquisitions is progressing well and both Lighthouse and Charles Derby are well-positioned to contribute to net flows in 2020,”  Feeney said.

gernetzkyk@businesslive.co.za