Brewin Dolphin funds up despite volatility

Wealth manager Brewin Dolphin has beaten off volatile financial market conditions to boost funds under management 5 per cent to £38 billion in the three months to end-December.

The best performer this time round was discretionary funds under management, which jumped 12 per cent to £24.8bn. “Despite tough market conditions in the first quarter, the group has made good progress growing overall funds under management, in particular in our discretionary services,” David Nichol, Brewin Dolphin’s chief executive, said.

Discretionary asset management is where a client outsources the day to day management of their asset portfolio to the wealth manager, including decision-making and administration.

Brewin’s Q1 total income rose 1 per cent to £70.2, while fee income was up 14 per cent. However, commission income slumped 23 per cent to £17m, attributed by the firm to “lower transaction volumes due to volatile market conditions”.

Nichol said he expected this volatility to continue in the short term due to “global economic concerns coupled with political uncertainty in the UK and Europe”.