Rathbones has successfully stemmed the tide of outflows that ensued following its merger with Investec’s wealth division.
In a trading update released today, the wealth management firm revealed that investors withdrew £200m from its platform in the last quarter of the year, a decrease from £600m in the previous quarter, as reported by .
Despite witnessing "particularly strong discretionary inflows", the asset manager noted that a temporary surge in withdrawals around the Autumn Budget resulted in net negative outflows.
The company's discretionary and managed propositions saw an increase in inflows to £400m, up from £100m between July and September 2024.
However, as the transition into Rathbones continued, cash kept flowing out from the Investec Wealth & Investment business (IW&I), with outflows rising from £300m in the previous quarter to £400m. In 2023, Investec announced that its wealth and management division would merge with Rathbones in an £839m deal.
"The integration of IW&I continues to proceed well, and we have made substantial progress in the integration process, in line with our expectations," the firm stated today.
"The client consent process is well-progressed with very encouraging responses, and we continue to anticipate completing the client migration onto a single operating platform during the first half of 2025."
Over the past year, investors have withdrawn over £1bn from IW&I, offsetting the £415m that flowed into Rathbones’ investment management arm and £606m into its asset management arm.
At the close of the year, the firm reported funds under management standing at £109.2bn, an increase from £108.8bn at the end of September and £105.3bn at the end of 2023. However, this was slightly below the anticipated £110bn closing funds under management projected by analysts.
The company's share price has struggled to make significant gains in recent months, trading down four per cent from a year ago. "Rathbones’ shares have weakened like others in the sector in recent months, reflecting the generally weak sentiment towards asset-gathering stocks given the uncertainty that has prevailed," commented analysts at Peel Hunt.
The firm outlined its priorities for 2025, stating: "Our priorities for 2025 include completing the migration of IW&I clients whilst adding marketing and distribution capability to support organic growth opportunities, both directly and in tandem with third-party IFAs."
The asset manager is scheduled to release its preliminary statement of annual results on 26 February.
