Brewin Dolphin's FY total funds growth driven by acquisitions

Wealth management firm Brewin Dolphin said on Wednesday that total funds had increased in the year ended 30 September.

Total funds increased 15% over the half to £47.6bn. However, when excluding the £2.7bn-worth of funds gained from acquisitions, total funds were broadly flat year-on-year.

Discretionary fund inflows were also flat at £2.8bn, while total discretionary funds improved 6.6% to £361.4m, including £19.8m from recent acquisitions, as a negative investment performance in "challenging" markets offset the positive net flows seen elsewhere.

Pre-tax profits grew 4.3% to £78.2m, while statutory profits before tax slipped 0.8% to £62.1m, with income higher in the second half of the year due to higher commission and fee income.

Earnings per share were also broadly flat at 20.4p on a diluted basis.

Brewin also announced it would pay a final dividend of 9.9p per share, taking its total for the full-year to 14.3p.

Chief executive Robin Beer said: "Looking ahead to FY 2021, we're prioritising our digital agenda, so we can innovate and explore ways to improve client and adviser user experiences.

"These priorities will enable us to maintain relevance through both our propositions and user experience, become more efficient through improved processes and ensure we are well placed to capture growth opportunities in challenging markets."

As of 0825 Brewin Dolphin shares had slipped 1.71% to 287.50p.