Robin Beer

The firm said that the increase was driven by strong market performance and elevated levels of commissions.

Brewin Dolphin’s total funds increased by 10.5% to £52.6bn (FY 2020: £47.6bn) while total discretionary funds were up 10.9% to £45.7bn (FY 2020: £41.2bn).

The increase in funds was supported by positive net flows and strong discretionary investment performance of 9.5%, compared to the MSCI PIMFA Private Investor Balanced Index benchmark of 8.7%.

The firm also reported total discretionary net flows of £0.6bn (annualised growth rate of 2.9%), with gross inflows of £1.6bn (H1 2020: £1.5bn).

Robin Beer, chief executive officer, said: “In the first half of 2021 we delivered an excellent set of results driven by record fund inflows in Q2 and the outperformance of our clients’ investments during a strong market recovery.

“Our broad range of propositions and distribution channels has enabled us to reach a wider demographic of people and support those clients who have been able to accumulate higher levels of savings over the last year.”

He added: “The consistency of our inflow performance throughout the pandemic demonstrates we have a resilient business model, a trusted brand and our advice-focused strategy is the right one. The implementation of our custody and settlement system in the Autumn remains on track, which will enable greater efficiencies and support our growth ambitions.

“Our strong financial momentum and the good progress made on our strategic priorities in the first half of the year gives me confidence for the remainder of the year.”

Marc Wilkinson, regional director for Scotland at Brewin Dolphin, added: “Our Scottish offices have continued to perform well, despite the ongoing challenges of Covid-19 and its economic impact. Throughout the past year or so, we have remained fully focussed on helping our clients to achieve their financial goals in volatile markets.

“Since the pandemic began we have experienced an increase in the need for financial advice across our teams in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee – both from new and existing clients. Broadly speaking, we are offering more services to our clients than ever before and investment performance has been strong, with our focus on international diversification helping clients as global markets have continued their recovery.”

He continued: “Glasgow has performed very well – particularly in the IFA market. Edinburgh remains one of the top contributors to our UK-wide network, while Aberdeen continues to be buoyed by a sustained oil price recovery and Dundee, which predominantly offers financial planning, has also seen an upturn in demand.

“As the vaccination programme progresses and some form of normality begins to set in, there are likely to be big changes to come. Inflation fears have shaken markets in recent weeks and there has been a great deal of discussion over the re-payment of government spending, which will likely mean changes to taxation in time. Amid all this uncertainty, it has seldom been more important to have your financial affairs in order and to access advice.”