New Investment and Funds under Management
• Gross inflow of funds under management of £4.4 billion (2014: £3.8 billion)
• Continued strong retention of client funds
• Net inflow of funds under management of £2.7 billion (2014: £2.4 billion)
• Funds under management of £55.5 billion (2014: £47.6 billion)
St. James's Place Partnership
• Partnership numbers at 2,194 - up 2.9% since the start of the year
• Total number of advisers at 2,968 - up 4.7% since start of the year
Profit
- EEV basis:
• New business profits of £205.9 million (2014: £181.3 million)
• Operating profit at £265.3 million (2014: £260.7 million)
• Net asset value per share 683.7 pence (2014: 604.9 pence)
- IFRS basis:
• Underlying profit before shareholder tax of £72.9 million (2014: £78.3 million)
• Profit before shareholder tax of £67.0 million (2014: £82.4 million)
• Net asset value per share 189.3 pence (2014: 178.8 pence)
- Cash result:
• Underlying post tax cash result of £84.9 million (2014: £78.5 million)
Interim Dividend
• Interim dividend 10.72 pence per share
Broadening Client Services
• Agreement to acquire Rowan Dartington Holdings Ltd (a provider of discretionary investment and stockbroking services) with in excess of £1 billion funds under management
David Bellamy, Chief Executive, commented:
"I am pleased to once again be reporting a strong first half performance and continued momentum in all aspects of our business. Against a backdrop of a volatile market, new investments grew to £4.4 billion. Retention of our existing client funds remained consistent with previous years such that net inflows increased to £2.7 billion taking total funds under management at the half year to £55.5 billion, up 6.7% since the beginning of the year.
As our business grows, we continue to seek opportunities to broaden our investment and related services for clients. That was the rationale behind our new banking service, the St. James's Place Money Management account, we introduced in association with Metro Bank earlier this year.
As part of that strategy, today we're pleased to announce that we have entered into an agreement to acquire Rowan Dartington Holdings Ltd, a specialist stockbroking and discretionary investment service. The supplementary services, which include advisory portfolio management, direct equity, trust and charity portfolio management, will broaden the range of investment options we can offer to existing clients and enable us to access new clients who value such services.
Disappointingly, our profits have been impacted by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme levy, which has almost trebled from £6.9 million to £20 million. Despite this significant cost, the sustained growth and maturity of our funds under management continues to provide growth in the underlying post tax cash result and the Board has declared a 20% increase in the interim dividend to 10.72 pence per share.
I am also pleased to report that through the combination of our recruitment efforts in the UK, expansion in Asia and the continued success of our Academy, qualified adviser numbers are up 4.7% since the start of the year, to 2,968.
Our success has been and continues to be built on our fundamental belief in the value of a human relationship and the highly personal interaction, putting the client and adviser at the core of everything we do. If we continue to focus on achieving the best possible outcomes for our clients through the provision of sound advice, a reliable ongoing service and our distinctive approach to the management of their wealth, I am confident we will continue to grow our business in line with our objectives, in 2015 and beyond."
