Nucleus Financial pleased with asset performance at year-end

Independent wrap platform provider Nucleus Financial Group updated the market on its assets under administration for the 12-month period to 31 December on Monday, reporting that they stood at £13.9bn as at period end, up 2.3% over the year.

The AIM-traded firm said that was against a “challenging” market backdrop, which saw the FTSE All Share Index decrease by 13% and the FTSE 100 Index decrease by 12.5% during the same period.

It said advisers actively using the platform increased by 6% to 1,396 over the year, while customer numbers grew by 7% to 93,175.

Net inflows for the period were impacted by continued investor caution, the board added.

Assets under administration for the fourth quarter of 2018 fell by 5.5%, which Nucleus said reflected a fall in markets overall, with the FTSE All Share Index down 11% and the FTSE 100 Index down by 10.4% in the quarter.

The figure had since recovered, in line with market movements, to £14.2bn as at 24 January.

“Nucleus has grown strongly in recent years and, despite the challenging market backdrop, I am pleased to report our 12th successive year of growth in AUA, adviser users and customer numbers,” said founder and chief executive officer David Ferguson.

“Having listed the business in the third quarter of 2018 and reorganised our major outsourcing relationships in the fourth quarter of 2018, we are now focused on accelerating our growth within the sector.”