St. James's Place saw jump in Q1 new business ahead of UK budget

LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - British wealth manager St. James's Place on Tuesday posted an increase in funds under management to 62 billion pounds ($89.91 billion) during the first quarter of 2016, boosted by increased demand for its services ahead of the UK Budget.

The firm, which offers a range of services including fund management, insurance and retirement planning, said net inflows were 1.36 billion pounds, up from 1.32 billion pounds in the same quarter a year earlier.

Client retention during the quarter was strong at 95 percent of client funds, it added in a statement.

Ahead of Britain's budget on March 16, there were expectations the government would impose tighter limits on how much people could invest in certain products and make changes to rules on tax relief, although those concerns proved to be unfounded.

"In addition to advising clients on the more flexible, often complex, options available in respect of their retirement funds and changes to the contribution and fund limits which were announced last year, our partners have been active in the run up to this year's spring budget, as speculation of more radical changes grew," said Chief Executive David Bellamy.

The group also said it had launched a new range of mortgages in conjunction with Metro Bank (LSE: MTRO.L - news) , that are designed for parents and grandparents to help children or grandchildren buy their first home. ($1 = 0.6896 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)