Quilter plc reports resilient Q4 flow performance, despite an expected seasonal slowdown relative to Q3

Quilter plc highlights:

·        Assets under Management and Administration (“AuMA”) of £99.6 billion at the end of December 2022, an increase of 3% from 30 September 2022. This reflected a modest pick-up in equity markets and slightly lower bond yields in the final quarter. Average AuMA for the fourth quarter of £98.8 billion (Q4 2021: £110.0 billion) was broadly in line with the third quarter average of £100.1 billion (Q3 2021: £106.9 billion) but remained below the first half average of £105.3 billion (H1 2021: £101.7 billion).

·        Net inflows of £159 million for Q4 (Q4 2021: £950 million) versus £236 million in Q3 2022 (Q3 2021: £1,018 million), reflecting the normal seasonality in the business relative to Q3 2022. This represented 1% of opening AuMA annualised (2021: 4%).

·        Solid performance from the Quilter channel with quarterly gross platform flows of £594 million (Q4 2021: £691 million), with adviser productivity stable at £2.4 million (annualised). Total Quilter channel quarterly net inflows of £513 million (Q4 2021: £584 million) with the decrease reflecting lower levels of new business.

·        Resilient gross flows from the IFA channel, with net flows impacted by adviser consolidation across the market. We remain focused on attracting new firms to our UK platform and continue to make good progress in that regard.

·        Pleasing performance from High Net Worth segment, with moderately lower gross flows and stable retention leading to net flows for the quarter of £158 million (Q4 2021: £282 million).

·        Refinance of existing £200 million subordinated bond (which will be called in February 2023) completed in early January through an issue of £200 million of 8⅝% Fixed Rate Reset Subordinated Notes due April 2033.

Steven Levin, Chief Executive Officer, Quilter, said:

“Although net flows for 2022 were below the level we want to achieve, we finished the year on a solid note despite the usual seasonal slowdown towards the end of the quarter. I was particularly pleased with the performance from our High Net Worth segment which has continued to deliver a robust performance, with good flows from the Quilter channel offsetting a slowdown in IFA flows.

“More broadly, the Quilter channel continued to deliver consistent flows to our platform and has maintained steady productivity throughout the year. The level of gross new IFA flows onto our platform remains good relative to peers given the market context and overall customer drawdowns remain in-line with historical trends. Net flows have been impacted by heightened adviser consolidation across the market. We continued to grow the base of IFAs using our market-leading platform in the quarter and expect incremental flows from this source to build over time. Finally, I look forward to updating the market on our financial results for 2022 on 8 March 2023.”

Quilter plc data tables for the three months ended 31 December 2022 (£bn) – unaudited

Quilter plc data tables for the full year ended 31 December 2022 (£bn) – unaudited