Private wealth manager Rathbone Brothers has broken through the £16bn barrier for total funds under management for the first time.

The Liverpool city centre-based firm said it had total funds under management of £16.04bn at the end of the first quarter of 2011.

This is an increase of 2.6% from £15.63bn at December 31,2010 and compares to an increase of 1.8% in the FTSE 100 Index and an increase of 0.6% in the FTSE APCIMS Balanced Index over the same period.

At Rathbones’ annual general meeting chairman Mark Powell told investors: “Despite a particularly uncertain economic environment, Rathbones has achieved excellent growth in funds under management during the first quarter of this year.

“Organic and acquired growth in our investment management business was an annualised 9.8%.

“In the same period, Rathbone Unit Trust Management returned to receiving net inflows of funds and total funds under management.”

Net operating income in Rathbone Investment Management of £33.9m was up 12.3% in the first three months of 2011 year-on-year.
Commission income was “relatively high” in the first quarter in the run up to the 2010/11 tax year end.

In February the firm, which operates out of the Port of Liverpool Building, posted pre-tax profits of £30.1m.

This was a  2% improvement on the previous year and it would have been higher had it not been for a £3.6m charge on the business, compared with £200,000 in 2009, linked to an industry-wide levy.

Mr Powell added: “This is my last annual general meeting as chairman. I am delighted that the board has elected Mark Nicholls as my successor and confident that we will benefit from his strategic direction and the energy and expertise of our executive team led by Andy Pomfret.”

Rathbones’ preliminary results announcement in February highlighted the need to finalise arrangements in respect of its London office.
The firm has now signed heads of terms in relation to 42,200 sq ft of office space in central London and expects to exchange contracts shortly.