St James's Place helped by market 'stability' in Q3

St James's Place, the FTSE 250 wealth management group, saw a six per cent increase in funds under management (FuM) in the third quarter as it reported good growth in new business despite the continuing macroeconomic uncertainty.

FuM at the end of September totalled £32.8bn, up 6% from the end of the first half and 15% higher than the start of the year. This was driven by a net inflow of funds of £0.75bn and a modest increase in global stock markets.

The firm said: "During the third quarter of 2012, world stock markets showed some signs of relative stability despite the on-going uncertainty surrounding European sovereign debt and weak economic data from major world economies.

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"In these challenging conditions we have continued to generate new business growth and maintain our excellent retention of existing business."

Total single investments increased by 5% during the third quarter to £1.3bn, bringing the year-to-date single investments to over £4.0bn, slightly ahead of the same period last year.

Total new business on an annual premium equivalent (APE) basis was up 8% year-on-year at £165.5m, helped mainly by strong growth of 14% during September.

Chief Executive David Bellamy said: "I am confident that the recent trends in new business and recruitment activity, together with the continued strengthening of our investment proposition bodes well for the rest of the year and importantly our future growth prospects."

Shares rose 3.5% to 393p in early trading on Wednesday.