Scottish Friendly more than doubles funds under management

Latest figures released by the Glasgow-based firm show that funds rose from £1.1 billion in 2014 to more than £2.6bn in 2015, a rise of 147 per cent, on the back of the acquisition of Marine & General Mutual (M&MG) in June last year.

Last year record sales, driven partially by Scottish Friendly’s corporate partnerships with firms such as Beagle Street and Smart Insurance.

Chief executive of Scottish Friendly, Fiona McBain, speaking as the results were published also revealed there was a positive return on the asset shares within the Scottish Friendly fund over the year.

The company holds its annual general meeting today at which it will confirm that the increase came on top of an 18 per cent rise in total sales from £21.6 million in 2014 to a record £25.5m in 2015.

The addition of almost 30,000 new members from M&GM, in addition to new business, drove Scottish Friendly’s membership up by over 70,000 to a total of 490,000.

Ms McBain said: “With efficiency being one of the company’s key selling points, we more than doubled in size with only a very modest increase in headcount, from 88 in 2014 to 96.”

She added she was delighted to report such a strong year. “The June 2015 transfer of M&GM to Scottish Friendly was a major factor in driving these numbers up and will bring significant economies of scale,” she said.

She added: “Scottish Friendly over the past decade has not been an organisation that has ever rested on its laurels and we don’t intend to now,” she said. “Although the economy is facing some challenging times, we are confident Scottish Friendly’s successes in 2015 position us favourably to respond to these challenges.

“The foundations are in place for long-term success and we will continue to seek out opportunities for further growth.”