Charles Stanley funds under management up 4.6% in first quarter

(Sharecast News) - Charles Stanley posted a jump in first-quarter funds under management on Tuesday, driven by a positive market performance.In the three months to 30 June, total funds under management and administration rose 4.6% to £24.9bn compared to a 4.5% increase for the MSCI WMA Private Investor Balanced index.Most of the asset growth came from the company's higher margin discretionary service, which saw a 5.7% increase. Meanwhile, execution-only funds were up 4.8% in the period and online platform Charles Stanley Direct saw its funds under administration grow 13% to £2.6bn. Advisory managed and advisory dealing fund categories remained relatively flat during the quarter.For the year to date, core business revenues in June were up 4% to £39.2m.Chief executive officer Paul Abberley said: "I am pleased to report that trading conditions in Q1 were in line with our expectations. We remain focused, as outlined in our 2018 year-end results, on the execution of our strategy to deliver top line growth and to streamline our operating model."Canaccord Genuity, which rates the stock at 'hold', said the statement was in line with its expectations and recent quarters."Although the FUMA increase is welcome, with markets somewhat recovering from the weakness at the start of the calendar year, net inflows remain flat. We believe that driving gross (and therefore net) inflows continues to be one of the key factors in growing the business's top line revenues, and therefore improving the operating margin of the business."