FUM at new high at St. James's Place

20th Jan 2011 07:39

Wealth management group St. James's Place saw a surge in funds under management (FUM) in a fourth quarter that capped a year of record new business.The group saw a net inflow of FUM of £3bn, compared to an inflow of £2.3bn in the fourth quarter of the previous year, taking FUM up to £27.0bn, a gain of £5.6bn on the year.Broker Panmure Gordon had been predicting an end-year FUM figure of £26.4bn."New investments of £4.75 billion coupled with the excellent retention of existing client funds and further growth in stock markets, have resulted in funds under management reaching an all time high of £27 billion," said chief executive David Bellamy.Partnership numbers were up 6% on the year to 1,552, in line with Panmure Gordon's forecast. "We remain committed to recruiting only the highest quality advisers into the Partnership, while ensuring that we are able to offer a best in class investment proposition for clients. We believe this focused approach will enable us to maintain momentum in our business and provide a good platform to deliver 15-20% per annum new business growth over the medium term," Bellamy said.Total new business on an annual premium equivalent (APE) basis was up 32% in 2010 to £581.8m from 2009's £440.8m.