Quilter boosts assets with revamped investment platform

(Reuters) - Wealth manager Quilter reported a 26% year-on-year jump in total assets for the first quarter on Wednesday, driven by a rebound in market sentiment because of mass vaccinations and COVID-19 stimulus measures.

Quilter, one of Britain's biggest investment services providers, said assets under management and administration (AUMA) totalled 119.9 billion pounds ($167 billion) as of March 31, compared to 95.3 billion pounds a year earlier and 117.8 billion pounds at the end of 2020.

Quilter Investment Platform, the company's largest business which completed the upgrade of its platform technology including repricing earlier this year, grew AUMA by nearly a third to 64.3 billion pounds.

The division provides advice-based wealth management products and services in the UK, serving a largely affluent customer base.

Much like its rivals, Quilter has seen a sharp rise in assets since early 2020, when fears over the economic impact from the pandemic prompted panic withdrawals.

The company, a spin-off of Anglo-South African insurer Old Mutual, earlier this month agreed a sale of its international business to focus more on the British market where it competes with larger rivals, such as St James' Place, Standard Life Aberdeen and Hargreaves Lansdown.

Quilter's net inflows increased to 1.2 billion pounds in the three months ended March 31 from 0.5 billion pounds last year.

Household savings in the UK reached a record last year amid lockdowns, official data showed last month. (https://reut.rs/32w39hN)

($1 = 0.7180 pounds)

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)