Quilter plc announced net inflows of £4bn for 2021, up from £1.5bn in the previous year, which it said was predominantly driven by its new investment platform. However, Paul Feeney, CEO of Quilter, warned of "difficult times" with "significant geopolitical tensions" at the heart of their concerns.
The platform saw record net inflows of £3.5bn. However, this was offset by £0.6bn reduction in Quilter Investors assets in relation to "legacy and closed books of business" the company said.
Net inflows to Quilter Investors, the firm's multi-asset business, was £0.5bn for the year, up 67%, primarily driven by a £0.8bn decrease in gross outflows from Cirilium Active "due to improved fund performance". However, this was offset by reduced gross flows to Cirilium Passive, Cirilium Blend and the Income range.
Quilter Cheviot, the firm's wealth manager, had net inflows of £1.1bn.
Quilter plc has set a target of £6bn of net inflows per year.
Assets under management and advice ended the year at £111.8bn, a 13% increase from the beginning of 2021.
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"We are pleased with our 2021 performance but we are facing difficult times with significant geopolitical tensions at the centre of all our concerns," said Feeney. "Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine and their struggle puts the market volatility we face into an appropriate perspective.
"Up to the end of February, our year-to-date net inflows were comfortably ahead of the comparable period in 2021, although the conflict in Ukraine is likely to have a bearing on equity and bond markets, investor sentiment and inflation amongst other factors."
He added that it "remains too early" to determine the impact of the geopolitical crisis but noted that their "advice-based model" is "particularly valued" during uncertain periods.
The group's total net fee revenue on a continuing basis increased by 10% to £618m, but the blended revenue margin for the group, calculated with reference to net management fees, decreased by 1 bp to 48 bps.
The firm noted that regulatory and insurance costs have increased by 7% to £29m, largely driven by a £4m increase to the FSCS levy.
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Quilter has also increased its provision for DB to DC pension transfer advice that was advised by Lighthouse by £7m, leading to a total provision of £29m.
It said that throughout 2021 it had paid £4m in redress on British Steel Pension Scheme cases and professional fees of £2m.
"The final costs of redress will depend on the final number of cases where advice is found to be unsuitable and where customers have suffered losses and will also depend on the specific calculations for each case," the group said, adding that market movements can also impact the number.
The board is recommending a final dividend of 3.9 pence per share, up from 3.6 pence per share the previous year.
