St James's Place PLC (LSE:STJ) topped FTSE 100 risers on Thursday, up 2.5% as it reported slightly lower total funds under management but beat expectations for net flows.
FUM stood at £188.6 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2025, broadly in line with City analyst expectations.
Net inflows of £1.7 billion and gross inflows of £5.1 billion beat consensus forecasts of £1.4 billion and £4.9 billion, respectively.
Strong pension flows and a return to positive inflows across non-pension products helped lift sentiment, while FUM retention improved to 95.0% from 94.6% in the prior period.
CEO Mark FitzPatrick said: "The external environment has been uncertain, but our advisers have reassured clients and helped them remain focused on their long-term financial goals and aspirations."
He noted that A decline in global markets during the quarter impacted funds under management.
A new charging structure will be introduced over the summer, with work still continuing to review historic client servicing records after many customers complained of being overcharged in the past few years, as well as implementing a cost and efficiency programme.
FitzPatrick said the company has "built momentum" in new business in recent quarters too, with "good levels of client engagement and activity so far in April", adding that macroeconomic uncertainty and market volatility "create a challenging environment for savers and investors, but one which underlines the value that trusted financial advice delivers to clients".
Analysts at Peel Hunt said, despite this, the FUM decline in the quarter means "the risk lies to the downside given the recovery needed" to reach the broker's £204 billion year-end assumption, though the City consensus is expecting nearer £201 billion.
St James’s Place shares have dropped around 12% over the past month, leaving the stock trading at a price/FUM multiple of 2.5%, still well below historical averages, the analysts noted.