Brooks Macdonald profits up 18% after job cuts

Underlying profit before tax rose 18% year-on-year to £17.1m (H1 FY23: £14.5m) for wealth manager and Financial Planner Brooks Macdonald for the six months ended 31 December. Revenue increased by 8% to £63.3m, primarily driven by higher Financial Planning revenue following acquisitions made in the 2023 financial year. However, the wealth manager and Financial Planner, a signficant provider of SIPPs, reported net outflows of £0.2bn for the period. The firm said it expects to continue to see high levels of outflows given prevailing macro-economic conditions, with net outflows expected for the full year. This was offset by an investment performance rise of 5.3%. Total funds under management grew 4.3% over the half to a record £17.6bn (30 June 2023: £16.8bn). Out of £5.3bn under management or advice on behalf of private clients, £4.4bn related to portfolios within the firm’s investment management and £0.8bn was for portfolios with third party investment managers. Underlying costs increased by 4.7% due to the impact of the acquisitions made in 2023 and cost inflation. The firm expects the cost benefits from the organisational changes it implemented in December to be realised in the second half of this year. Last Autumn Brooks announced that it would reduce its headcount to cut costs annually by £4m. The firm axed around 55 jobs, about 10% of its workforce, as part of the cost-saving measures. The wealth manager added that it had completed the first phase of the implementation of its new client relationship management system. The first phase has been focused on financial adviser-facing processes and systems. In its Financial Planning division, Brooks has also completed the implementation of its advice software which it claims will provide consistently strong client service. Andrew Shepherd, CEO of Brooks Macdonald, said: “During the last six months our priority has been to help our clients and advisers navigate the challenging markets that the wealth management industry has continued to face. The need for trusted advice and robust long-term investment management remains as strong as ever. “As a management team, we have been proactive in adapting our business to the current environment, resulting in a group that is in a stronger operational position, well-placed to take advantage of the opportunity ahead.” For the remainder of this year, Brooks said it expects its strongest growth to come from its Platform MPS and BMIS businesses. For the first half of its financial year, approximately half of the inflows seen for the firm were within its MPS Platform service.

Brooks Macdonald profits up 18% after job cuts

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