logo-loader

Brewin Dolphin funds slide 14.6% but positive discretionary flows amid coronavirus

Published: 03:39 17 Apr 2020 EDT

Brewin Dolphin  -

Brewin Dolphin Holdings PLC (LON:BRW) delivered positive discretionary net inflows in the past quarter, though total funds under administration fell 14.6% due to reactions to the coronavirus pandemic.  

Total funds were £41.4bn at the end of the three to March, the second quarter of the wealth manager’s financial year, with discretionary funds down 14.6% to £35.7bn.

But there was a £0.4bn of discretionary net flows, implying a growth rate of 3.8% on an annualised basis.

“We were encouraged by our good performance in the first quarter with improving markets and positive discretionary net inflows, which strongly accelerated into the second quarter,” said chief executive David Nicol.

For the first half of the FTSE 250 group’s financial year, it has seen total net flows of £0.6bn, representing an annualised growth rate of 2.7%, of which discretionary net flows were £0.5bn, driven by its managed portfolio service (MPS).

Total income increased 8.3% year on year to £175.8mln, including £9.3m as a result of recent acquisitions.

Nicol said Brewin has a “strong balance sheet with good cash generation, and a robust regulatory capital position” and currently has “no intention” of participating in any government support schemes.

Because of the high level uncertainty created by the recent market weakness, he said it was too early to ascertain the impact this may have on full year 2020 income and profitability.

Shares in the company rose 7% to 227.5p in early trading on Friday but were still down 38% in the year to date.

Broker Liberum said the trading update was unexpected but welcome, especially the level of discretionary net flows. 

“Not only is this better than our expectations, it represents an acceleration relative to 1Q20 during what can only be described as an extremely challenging market environment. 

“One of the key drivers of this performance was the continued demand for the group’s advice-led service, which in our view not only provides it with a more compelling proposition for its clients, but also a more defensive source of earnings.”

Ramp Metals Launches Drilling Program in Pursuit of High-Grade Nickel in...

Ramp Metals CEO Jordan Black joined Steve Darling from Proactive to introduce the company to the public domain and share exciting developments in the mining industry. With a background as a geotechnical engineer and experience in venture capital, including a notable role in taking GoldSpot...

37 minutes ago