St James’s Place boosted adviser numbers, to just 46 short of 4,000, a trading update has revealed.

The update showed qualified adviser numbers had risen from 3,661 in December 2017 to 3,954 last month.

The number of partner advice firms also increased from 2,415 to 2,489.

Meanwhile the wealth manager suffered an assets set-back, as the figures showed these stood at £95.5bn at the end of last month, down from September where they were above £100bn.

The firm blamed the slump on lower global investment markets.

Other highlights from the report included:

• Gross inflows of funds of £15.7 billion - up 8%

• Continued strong retention of client funds - 96%

• Net inflow of funds of £10.3 billion - up 8%

Andrew Croft, chief executive, said: “Against the particularly difficult market conditions that prevailed in the final quarter and compared to an exceptional outcome in 2017, I am pleased to report another good set of results that demonstrate the resilience of our business. 

“However, our clients and advisers are not immune to such external market factors and, whilst the quarter began strongly, inflows weakened in the final two months resulting in gross inflows for the fourth quarter of £3.95bn.

“This was a robust performance, though slightly lower than our record fourth quarter last year and resulted in full-year gross inflows of £15.7bn, which represents growth of 8% over 2017. 
 
“The continued strength in retention of clients and their investments resulted in net inflows of £2.6bn in the final quarter and £10.3bn for the year, an increase of 8% over the previous 12 months and equivalent to 11% of opening funds under management.

“Total funds under management were negatively impacted by lower global investment markets, closing the period at £95.6bn, up 5% since the beginning of the year.”
 
He added: “We continue to see a growing demand for advice and believe the strength, quality and growth of our own dedicated team of advisers affords us key competitive advantage. 

“It is therefore particularly pleasing to report a further 8% increase in the number of qualified advisers working across our partner businesses, which takes the total to 3,954.

“This sustained momentum in adviser recruitment underpins our growth aspirations.”