Third quarter gross inflows at wealth manager St James’s Place rose strongly by £1.27bn to £4.32bn, the company reported today.

The firm said gross inflows were £3.05bn in the same quarter last year.

Net inflows were £2.59bn as the firm’s retention rate (year to date funds under management) dropped slightly to 96.2% (Q3 2020: 96.4%).

Year to date net inflows were up 8.4% year on year.

The wealth manager ended the quarter (ending 30 September) with just over £148bn in funds under management (Q3 2020: £118.7bn).

Andrew Croft, SJP chief executive, said that he expects gross inflows for the second half of the year to be slightly ahead of the guidance the firm issued in July.

He added that SJP’s growth has been driven by a focus on long-term Financial Planning.

He said: “Increased personal savings and improving consumer confidence have provided a favourable market backdrop and this, together with the great work our advisers do in supporting clients with their long-term Financial Planning, has driven gross inflows of £4.32bn for the quarter, up strongly against a soft comparator in 2020.”

Mr Croft added that while there is uncertainty around the investment market outlook, he expects SJP to be on track for 25% growth in gross inflows for the year.

He said: “There remains uncertainty around the near-term economic and investment market outlook, but our business is in great shape and we now anticipate the rate of gross inflow growth for the second half to be modestly ahead of our previous guidance issued in late July. As a result, we expect growth in gross inflows for the full year to be around 25%.

“Beyond 2021, it is natural that we will see variations in the pattern of new business growth we achieve over time, but our performance this year gives us every confidence in the 2025 ambitions we set out for St James's Place earlier this year.”