Wealth manager Brooks Macdonald has completed major organisational changes, cutting full year costs by about £4m, according to a trading update today.
In October the wealth and investment manager announced it was to cut 55 jobs, around 10% of its workforce, as part of cost-saving measures.
Brooks Macdonald said the cuts from its 512-strong workforce were designed to ensure it is, “set up for success, organised to deliver its strategy and drive growth.”
The wealth manager reported a 4.3% growth in funds under management in the final quarter of 2023, driven by growth in its MPS offering, according to today’s trading update.
As at 31 December, the group had £5.2bn of funds under management or advice.
Platform MPS, including the wealth manager’s offering for financial advisers via BM Investment Solutions, grew to £3.9bn of assets under management. This represents an increase of 7.3%, of which organic net flows contributed 3.3%.
BPS and funds experienced higher net outflows in the quarter as clients withdrew funds to repay debt or to hold higher cash balances.
The wealth manager said net outflows of £0.1bn were more than offset by positive investment performance in the quarter of 4.9%.
The group saw gross inflows of £0.6bn for the quarter, a rise of 1.5% on the previous quarter and up 14% year-on-year.
Andrew Shepherd, CEO of Brooks Macdonald, said: “This result is a testament to the expertise and hard work of our people who are committed to delivering on our purpose to 'realise ambitions and secure futures' for all our stakeholders.
"During a challenging period for both the economy and financial markets, we continued to see healthy demand across our range of products and services, with £0.6 billion of gross inflows during the second quarter. Pleasingly, this included 44.7% organic growth from our recently launched and fast-growing gilt portfolio service.
"These results reflect our capabilities as a group to deliver what people value - the guidance and reassurance of trusted advice and robust long-term investment management. Given those capabilities and the opportunities we can see ahead, I remain confident in our ability to deliver on the group's ambitious growth strategy."
Brooks Macdonald will release its full half year results for the period ended 31 December on 7 March.