Wealth manager Brooks Macdonald has reported net inflows of £50m for the quarter ended 31 December, its first quarter of positive net flows since 2023.
The turnaround was driven by strong net inflows of £187m from the Platform MPS business, representing an annualised growth rate of 12%.
The wealth manager noted there had been strong demand for its Brooks Macdonald Investment Solutions MPS offering for financial advisers.
The wealth manager reported a 3% growth in funds under management and advice to £20.1bn (30 September: £19.6bn).
Of this, total funds under management were £17.8bn, including bespoke portfolio service funds of £8.9bn (up 2%) and managed portfolio service funds of £7.8bn (up 6% over the quarter).
Market and investment performance contributed £0.5bn in the quarter.
Andrea Montague, CEO of Brooks Macdonald, said she expects the improvement in net flows to continue.
She said: "I am delighted to announce a return to positive net flows in the quarter, highlighting the improving trend delivered in recent quarters, and strong investment performance lifting FUMA to £20.1 billion. We are committed to building on this positive momentum as we execute our 'Reignite Growth' strategy."
The improvement in flows marks the end of a long period of net outflows for Brooks Macdonald since 2023.
The wealth manager reported full-year net outflows of £0.4bn for the year ended 30 June, with the second half seeing net outflows of only £0.1bn compared to £0.3bn in the first half.
Brooks Macdonald has been striving to recover after being hit by net outflows in 2023 and cutting 10% of staff. It said the cuts from its 512-strong workforce were designed to ensure it was, “set up for success, organised to deliver its strategy and drive growth.”
In July Brooks Macdonald launched a new Financial Planning brand - Brooks Financial. It said the brand has been launched to recognise the growing scale of Brooks Macdonald’s Financial Planning business following the acquisitions of LIFT-Financial, Lucas Fettes and CST.
The company said Brooks Financial brings together all former Financial Planning companies under one unified brand.
Andrea Montague took over as CEO of Brooks Macdonald on 1 October 2024, since which time it has made several acquisitions.
In 2025 the firm completed the acquisition of Chartered Financial Planners LIFT-Financial Group Limited and LIFT-Invest for £45m, Welsh Chartered Financial Planning firm CST Wealth Management for an undisclosed sum and £890m AUA Norwich-based Lucas Fettes Financial Planning.
• Financial Planning Today Analysis: Management and shareholders will welcome these figures which suggest the firm is finally beginning to put behind it some tough days. It's too early to be certain, but the strategy of growth in the Financial Planning sector, and offering investment services to advisers, appears to be paying off for relatively new CEO Andrea Montague. Only time will tell if the strategy works in the medium to long term. Brooks Macdonald will need to work hard to compete against some much bigger competitors and more growth is needed.