St James’s Place says there is increasing interest in DB transfers among its clients but it remains ‘cautious’ in its approach.

The wealth management firm declared financial results in a half year report this morning.

This also showed another rise in the number of its advisers as well as a jump in operating profit to £397.3million compared to £284million in the same period last year.

The report stated: “In 2017, we have seen further interest from clients exploring the opportunity to transfer out of defined benefit pension schemes, driven by high transfer values being offered to them as low gilt yields inflate scheme liabilities.

"This is a market that is growing rapidly but it is not without risk given the complicated nature of assessing the benefits or otherwise of such transfers. We will continue to approach this market with a degree of caution.”

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Other headline figures contained in the report were:

• Total number of advisers at 3,540, up 3.7% since the start of the year

• Gross inflow of funds under management of £6.9 billion (2016: £5.3 billion)

• Net inflow of funds under management of £4.3 billion (2016: £3.1 billion)

• Group funds under management of £83billion (2016: £65.6 billion)

• New business profits of £343.0 million (2016: £228.9 million)

• Operating profit at £397.3 million (2016: £284.0 million)

• Underlying profit before shareholder tax of £106.3 million (2016: £73.8 million)

• Profit before shareholder tax of £79.6 million (2016: £60.5 million)

David Bellamy, chief executive, said: “As expected, we've also seen further growth in the total number of advisers working across the Partnership. As our client base grows, so too does the scale of our Partner businesses as they develop from largely single adviser practices, into small and medium size businesses, adding value to the clients they attract and serving them well. We see this as very positive development, which bodes well for the sustainability and succession of our Partner businesses, and continued growth.”

He said: "I am very pleased to report that the momentum we experienced in the first quarter has continued, with new and existing clients entrusting St. James's Place with some £6.9 billion of new investments in the first six months, some 30% higher than the same period last year. Importantly, through the excellent work of our Partners and their staff in building and maintaining close relationships with clients, we are also able to report strong retention levels, resulting in net inflows for the period of £4.3 billion, up 40%.”