River and Mercantile looking positive after third quarter

Investment solutions business River and Mercantile Group updated the market on its for the three and nine months ended 31 March on Wednesday, with fee earning assets under management and notional under management increasing by 6% to £30.6bn in the quarter through March.

The London-listed company said net inflows were £1.3bn in the quarter, with net sales of £0.5bn and positive rebalancing flows in Derivative Solutions of £0.8bn.

It reported that positive investment performance in all divisions added £0.5bn, with performance fees in the three months to 31 March estimated to be £1.1m.

The firm said mandates in transition in Equity Solutions - Institutional included £0.2bn relating to the previously announced Willis Towers Watson mandate with Alliance Trust.

For the full nine-month period, fee earning assets under management and notional under management increased by 20% to £30.6 bn.

Net inflows were £3.4bn in the nine months, with net sales of £2.0bn and positive rebalancing flows in Derivative Solutions of £1.4bn.

Positive investment performance in all divisions added £1.7bn, the board said, with performance fees for the nine months ended 31 March estimated to be £5.9m.

“In the quarter, we grew assets and in-force revenue from both positive net flows and investment performance,” said CEO Mike Faulkner.

“Our investment performance track record continues to be strong across all products.

“Our client orientated solutions and low attrition rates have resulted in positive net flows in each of the last twelve quarters since the IPO in 2014.”

Faulkner said River and Mercantile remained “well positioned” to continue its growth and would continue to invest in its operating platform, international capabilities and new product launches.

“The River and Mercantile Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund, launched in September 2014, now has over £100m in AUM and we will be launching and seeding a Global Macro strategy in 2017.”