Rathbone Brothers full year funds under management grow

Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers posted a rise in full year 2015 profit and funds under management despite subdued investment markets.

For the year ended 31 December, pre-tax profit rose to £58.6m from £45.7m in 2014, while basic earnings per share came in at 97.4p from 76p.

Meanwhile, total funds under management were up 7.4% compared to the previous year to £29.2bn. The gains came as the FTSE 100 dropped 4.9% over the period.

The total net annual growth rate of funds under management for Investment Management was 5.7% compared with 19.6% in 2014. Part of this was a result of organic growth, while another part came from the acquisition of assets from Jupiter Fund Management and Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management.

The board recommended a final dividend of 34p for 2015, up from 33p, bringing the total dividend for the year up 5.8% to 55p.

Chairman Mark Nicholls said: “During the year we took the opportunity to raise £20.0 million of long term subordinated loan notes to support our future growth and we have continued to pursue acquisition opportunities which will increase shareholder value.

“We look forward to completing our recently announced London office move in early 2017, and notwithstanding an uncertain market outlook, have decided to continue progressing our strategic initiatives."

The company said its strategic initiatives to boost business development remain on track, notably through its new distribution team collaborating with independent financial advisers, legal and accountancy firms.

Progress in 2015 continued, with ten strategic alliances and more new professional relationships established during the year and Rathbone said its plan to increase involvement in the charities sector has also made strong progress, with funds under management reaching £3.5bn.

At 0840 GMT, Rathbone shares were down 3.1% to 2,232p.