Brewin Dolphin boss reflects on a ‘good’ year as profits rise

Investment manager Brewin Dolphin, which has more than 100 staff, including 47 ­investment managers and ­financial planners based in Edinburgh, is targeting expansion after increasing adjusted pre-tax profit by 7 per cent to reach £62.2 million over the past 12 months.

With total income increasing by 1 per cent to £283.7m the firm said it is well-placed to capitalise on opportunities as it posted results of its latest annual performance, but failed to meet some City expectations.

Describing a “good year” for the firm, chief executive David Nicol said he is optimistic about the future of the business which has undergone consolidation including the disposal of its execution only division Stocktrade to Dundee-based Alliance Trust Savings for £14m.

Brewin Dolphin has “financial strength and genuine scalability,” he said.

The full-year results also showed fee income jumped by 7 per cent to £188.5m, representing 66 per cent of total income, compared to 63 per cent in the prior year.

Net discretionary inflows reached £1.1bn, which it said is in line with its target of 5 per cent per year.

The head of Brewin Dolphin’s Edinburgh operations, Jonathan Tweedie, said it saw it “building foundations for growth and delivering value to our clients”.

Tweedie added: “These results reflect our confidence as a team in Edinburgh, the continued quality of client service and potential for new business in our region as we see increasing demand for professional and trusted wealth management advice.”

However, while Brewin Dolphin highlighted the launch of its lower-cost investment products, analyst Paul Mcginnis at brokerage Shore Capital said: “We have reservations around whether a high-networth discretionary business should stretch its brand to also go after lower value ‘advice gap’ customers.”

He said the firm did not meet his team’s pre-tax profit forecast of £63.5m, and its assets under management, £32 billion at year-end compared to £32.5bn 12 months previously, came in below his expectations of £32.8bn.