British wealth manager Rathbone Brothers (Rathbones) has posted a rise in H1 2020 pre-tax profit despite the Covid-19 pandemic, supported by net inflows of £1.3bn ($1.68bn).
Rathbones performance highlights in H1 2020
The firm’s profit before tax in the first six months of 2020 stood at £27.3m, versus £20m last year.
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Operating income of £179m were 4% higher than the previous year figure of £172.7m.
Income in Investment Management rose 2% to £158.7m from £155.2m over the period. Income in Unit Trusts increased 16% year-on-year to £20.3m.
Funds under management and administration totalled £49.4bn at the end of June 2020, a 2% fall from £50.4bn at 2019-end. However, it was marginally higher than last year’s figure of £49.2bn.
Net inflows reached £1.3bn in the first six months of this year, compared with £500m a year ago.
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By GlobalDataNet inflows in Investment Management increased to £800m from £100m over the period while in Unit Trusts net inflows increased to £600m from £300m.
Besides, the firm maintained its interim dividend at 25p, same as the previous year.
Rathbones CEO Paul Stockton said: “An acceleration of net inflows in the second quarter helped our funds under management and administration reach £49.4 billion at 30 June 2020, down 2.0% over the half year against a backdrop where the FTSE 100 index decreased by 18.2%.
“Total net inflows were £1.3 billion in the first half, representing an annualised growth rate of 5.3%, while Investment Management generated annualised net organic growth of 1.4%. Our Unit Trusts business delivered another outstanding performance with net inflows of £0.6 billion, 68.7% ahead of the first half of 2019, with funds under management growing by 20.0% to £8.0 billion at 30 June 2020.
“Underlying profit margins remained resilient as our business model responded strongly to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic whilst also creating opportunities to leverage the advantages of remote working and streamlining procedures.”
