Flows into Rathbones Group fell to just £100m in the third quarter of 2023, compared to £400m in the same period last year.
In a trading update published on 19 October, the group said investment performance across the quarter in the firm's discretionary bespoke service fell flat, declining 0.8% compared to an MSCI PIMFA balanced index growth of 0.6%.
"Year-to-date group performance remains positive, benefitting in particular from the strong performance in our global opportunities and ethical bond funds," the firm added.
The asset manager attributed the flat flows to a "continued trend in elevated outflows that reflect current conditions", noting that gross flows remained strong at £1.2bn throughout the quarter.
Rathbones and Investec W&I complete merger to create £100bn wealth manager
The results come following the completed merger of Investec Wealth and Investment UK last month, although Investec W&I was not included in figures other than total funds under management, due to the merger being completed just days before the end of the quarter.
Total funds under management and administration for the group, including Investec W&I, reached £100.7bn, compared to £60.5bn at the end of last quarter.
However, £40.8bn of this was Investec W&I, meaning the combined investment management business (£45.4bn), Rathbones funds business (£12.5bn) and Saunderson House (£2bn) totalled £59.9bn.
Assets under management and administration at Saunderson House has been steadily declining in the last year. In the second quarter of 2023, the business held £2.9bn in assets, down from £4.1bn at the end of 2022.
This was due to the ongoing client migration from Saunderson to Rathbones, which the firm said was "progressing well", and is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2024.
Despite the poor flows, the group saw underlying net income rise by 6.5% over the last year to £120.4m, largely due to net interest income more than doubling to £13.3m.
Fee income from the firm's funds business also increased, from £15.4m to £17.6m, due to transfers from the Saunderson House migration.
Rathbones inflows slow in 'challenging' first half of 2023
Paul Stockton, Rathbones group CEO, said: "There is already a strong level of collaboration across the enlarged group and an ongoing dedication to keeping clients' interests at the forefront of everything we do.
"We delivered net inflows in wealth management in the quarter in spite of a market backdrop that remains challenging and higher outflows as clients use funds to repay debt or prefer to hold assets in cash for the short term.
"The scale that Rathbones now has positions us strongly to navigate current conditions successfully. We are confident in delivering the synergies associated with the Investec W&I transaction, together with our 2023 and 2024 operating margin guidance for the enlarged Rathbones group."
