Smith & Williamson, the accountancy, investment management and tax group with a flagship office in Bristol, has achieved a double-digit increase in annual operating profits.
Both its Investment Management and Banking division and the Tax and Business Services division reported strong growth in the year to April 30, helping the group increase group operating income by 8% to £215.1m.
Adjusted operating profits rose by 14.2% to £41.1m, lifting its adjusted operating profit margin from 18.1% to 19.1%. Funds under management and advice climbed by 8.7% to £16.3bn. 
Bristol office managing partner Mike Lea, pictured, said: “We are delighted to report another solid year of growth at Smith & Williamson as the unique combination of investment management, tax and accounting services that we offer our clients helps us to deliver progressively stronger performance across the business.
“Against the backdrop of an improving UK economy, we have continued to evolve our offering to meet the changing needs of our clients, while also maintaining careful control of costs and we look to the future with confidence.”
Bristol office partner and head of Investment Management John Erskine added: “Notwithstanding volatile market conditions, the hard work and focus shown by colleagues over the past few years has built strong momentum in the business that is reflected in the current year’s results.
“We are well placed to take full advantage of future opportunities and are committed to continue investing in our people, infrastructure and business development to ensure we capitalise on our current favourable position. At the same time, we recognise that this investment is likely to have an impact on profits in the current year.”
Investment Management and Banking achieved growth in profits of 9.4% to £31.5m. The 8.7% increase in funds under management and advice compared with an 8.5% upturn in the FTSE WMA Stock Market Balanced Index and a 2.7% upturn in the FTSE 100 over the year.
John Erskine explained: “As ever, the division’s performance was affected by stock market levels, investor sentiment and activity levels. The past year has generally seen higher, despite volatile, stock market levels, supporting an increase in fees and commissions.”
Tax and Business Services’ profits rose by 30.0% to £9.1m as improved market conditions underpinned many areas of the business.
Mike Lea added: “The division is now experiencing better market conditions and an improvement in returns in all eight business lines. Our fund administration service produced particularly strong results in the year and, as at April 30, acted for approximately 140 funds, representing £5bn of assets.”
Looking ahead, he said there were opportunities for the firm despite some concerns over the global economic picture.
“We are cautious about the short-term outlook for the UK economy due to the persistently challenging economic and geopolitical conditions in Europe,” he said. “We believe changes in the financial services environment will create opportunities for us; for example, the internationalisation of clients coupled with the importance of the UK and London as a global centre, developments in pensions and the impact of Retail Distribution Review on the wealth management sector – all of which point to change and potential opportunities.”
Following a review of its long-term strategic direction, the firm will continue to focus on being the leading independent provider of a range of complementary financial services, with specific focus on the core market of private clients and their business interests.
John Erskine added: “As part of this review, Family Office Services, later-life planning and entrepreneurs have been identified as key areas of focus and investment over the coming years, providing services which draw on the strength of our complementary financial services. Our pooled funds business has also been prioritised and it has recently been reorganised to create a core of actively managed funds.”
