Net inflows dropped 70% to £313m, compared to £1bn in the first three months of 2022.

However, the latest quarter's figures were up 2% from the end of December 2022 and nearly double the final quarter of 2022 level of £159m.

That reflected a modest pick-up in equity markets and slightly lower bond yields in the quarter, Quilter said.

Steven Levin, chief executive of Quilter, said: "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.

“Our expectation is that this will support an improvement in flows over the course of the year.”

He said the company’s focus is on “building distribution, enhancing our propositions, and driving efficiency to deliver improved profitability”.

Quilter’s Affluent IFA channel reported gross flows at £1.3bn, up from £1bn in the previous three months, which offset redemptions, leading to net flows of £83m, compared to a loss of £103m in the fourth quarter of last year.

The company said: “We remain focused on attracting new IFA firms to our UK platform and continue to make good progress in that regard.”

The firm's high net worth segment delivered an increase of 28% in gross flows to £627m, up from £489m in the last three months of 2022.

However higher redemptions led to net flows for the quarter of £70m, down from £158m three months earlier.