Quilter ‘cautiously optimistic’ as investor flows tick upwards
Wealth manager Quilter said it was “cautiously optimistic” today as flows onto its platform rose again in the first three months of the year.
The London-listed firm said flows in the first quarter had improved on the second half of 2022 and its total assets under administration had bumped up two per cent to £101.9bn by the end of March, on the back of a “modest pick-up” in equity markets.
Quilter notched net inflows of £313m for the period between January and March – down on the same period last year prior to the invasion of Ukraine but nearly double the £159m registered in the previous quarter.
Boss Steven Levin said today there is “good momentum” in the firm and flows were ticking up again toward the end of March.
“We remain cautiously optimistic that, over the course of 2023, we will continue to see a gradual return of investor confidence and improving market levels,” he said in a statement. “Our expectation is that this will support an improvement in flows over the course of the year.”
He added that his focus was now on “building distribution, enhancing our propositions, and driving efficiency to deliver improved profitability.”
Levin took over the reins at Quilter in October when boss Paul Feeney stepped down after a decade. Analysts at Liberum said today that “self-help initiatives” and cost cutting would remain a “key focus” for the new chief over the coming months as he looked to build the firm’s profitability.
Shares in Quilter rose over three per cent today on the update. Liberum recommended investors buy the stock and said the firm could be a potential takeover target amid a period of consolidation and dealmaking among the City’s money managers.
The improving flows also signal signs of a recovery after a torrid year for money managers in which investors’ nerves have been shaken by extreme volatility on the markets.
London-listed fund manager Jupiter said today it had shed another £900m in flows as investors’ appetite for UK equities remain subdued.