Gross sales rise by 24 per cent at Old Mutual
OLD MUTUAL, the Anglo-South African financial group, yesterday posted a 24 per cent jump in quarterly gross sales to £6.2bn.
Funds under management rose two per cent to more than £297bn, the FTSE 100 firm said, and clients pulled a net £500m out of its funds, better than the £3.9bn outflows seen in the same quarter a year ago.
Chief executive Julian Roberts said the wealth and emerging markets businesses had performed particularly well, with both producing double-digit rises in underlying sales, though the relative weakness of the South African rand offset some of the gains.
Old Mutual Global Investors, which poached former Schroders manager Richard Buxton last June, brought in a net £1.1bn of new funds in the quarter.
The firm believes the shake-up of the UK retirement rules, which mean pensioners no longer have to buy an annuity, offers a chance for expansion in Old Mutual Wealth’s drawdown operations.
Shares in Old Mutual fell 4.9 per cent to 199.1p yesterday
The firm also held its annual shareholder meeting yesterday, where all resolutions comfortably passed.