Wealth manager St James's Place in asset boost after Brexit vote

LONDON, Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) 25 (Reuters) - Wealth manager St James's Place said third quarter assets rose 8.9 percent, buoyed by market gains and strong demand for its personal investment advice in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

Funds under management at the end of the three months to end-September were 71.4 billion pounds ($87.27 billion), it said in a statement on Tuesday, up from 65.6 billion pounds at the end of June.

Gross inflows during the period were 2.8 billion pounds, led by continued strong demand for its pension products as more clients took advantage of rules designed to give them more control over how their retirement savings are invested.

Net (LSE: 0LN0.L - news) inflows in the quarter were 1.7 billion pounds, while positive market movements added a further 4.2 billion pounds to the firm's total assets, it said in a statement.

"The third quarter fell between two political turning points in the UK: the EU referendum result announced on 24 June and [Prime Minister] Theresa May's first Brexit planning speech on 3 October," Chief Executive David Bellamy said in a statement.

"However, despite the backdrop of political uncertainty, it's been very much business as usual and we've maintained good momentum in the business since the half year." ($1 = 0.8181 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop, editing by Sinead Cruise)