Rathbone drops a billion

Investment management firm Rathbone Brothers saw a net inflow of funds in the third quarter, despite volatile markets which saw total funds under management slip back by more than £1bn.Total funds under management at the end of September stood at £15.1bn, down from £16.36bn at the end of June. The total net inflow of funds under management in Rathbone Investment Management was £284m during the quarter.The underlying annualised rate of net organic growth of funds under management in Rathbone Investment Management was 4.6% for the quarter ended 30 September 2011 (2010: 5.7%) and 6.2% for the nine months ended 30 September 2011 (2010: 4.6%), the company said.Net operating income rose to £35.1m from £32.1m in the third quarter of last year. Investment management fees rose 11% to £19.2m from £17.3m the year before, but investment management commissions slipped 7% to £8.0m from £8.6m."We expect markets to remain nervous for the remainder of 2011 as inflation expectations and European sovereign debt uncertainties continue to dominate the headlines," stated Andy Pomfret, Rathbone's chief executive. "Despite this our brand and commitment to client service continue to position us well to grow as a leading provider of high-quality personalised discretionary investment services," he added.Shares of Rathbone were trading 67p lower (5.83%) at 1,083p in mid-morning trading; the Financial Services sector as a whole was down 4.69%. --jh Rathbone