Mattioli Woods Regulatory News (MTW)

21 October 2019

Mattioli Woods plc

("Mattioli Woods" or "the Group")

AGM Statement

Mattioli Woods (AIM: MTW.L), the specialist wealth management and employee benefits business, will hold its Annual General Meeting at 10.00 a.m. today, at which the Group's Chairman, Joanne Lake, will make the following statement:

"We are dedicated to maintaining our culture of putting clients first, building a business that is sustainable over the long-term. In September, we were pleased to report that the year ended 31 May 2019 had been another successful year. Further growth in profitability was driven by the economies of scale and operational efficiencies that our integrated model offers, which we used to reduce clients' costs by £3.1m and deliver sustainable shareholder returns.

"We have enjoyed a return to revenue growth in the first four months of this new financial year, with increases in direct SSAS and SIPP fees and property management revenues offsetting the impact of ongoing market and political uncertainty on the Group's bespoke investment services, including a lower level of net inflows than in the equivalent period last year.

"We have also driven some further margin improvement, with additional efficiencies and cost savings realised following a restructure of our client facing operations. These changes have been designed to enhance client service and experience, receiving positive feedback both internally and from clients.

"We remain committed to growing the dividend, while maintaining an appropriate level of dividend cover. As previously announced, the Board is pleased to propose a 17.6% increase in the total dividend for the year at today's meeting.

"Murray Smith, Group Managing Director, is standing down from the Board today to continue in a full-time role as Founder Director to the Group, where his focus will be on his client portfolio, acquisitions and acting as an ambassador for Mattioli Woods. Murray has been instrumental to the success of the Group and we are delighted that we will continue to benefit from his experience and insight in this new role.

"Despite the continued caution around markets there remains a significant opportunity for Mattioli Woods as people seek to take charge of their money and manage it through the generations. At the same time savings and investments are becoming more complicated and regulatory requirements, and hence our investment in risk and compliance resource, continue to increase.

"I believe our focus on expert advice and the inherent agility within our business model will allow us to adapt to the changing wealth and asset management marketplace. We continue to invest in our people, technology and infrastructure as we look to build upon our success to date. Our profit outlook for the year is in line with management's expectations and we remain very well-positioned to continue to grow, both organically and by acquisition, as we progress further towards the ambitious longer-term goals we have set."

- Ends -

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