A steady shift in the business mix away from commission income into investment management fees paid off nicely for Charles Stanley (CAY) in the year to the end of March. In fact, after taking into account one-off costs, amortisation, and a further payment into the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), adjusted pre-tax profit rose 8 per cent to £13.5m.
Transaction volumes continued to decline - albeit at a slower pace - but that trimmed commission revenue by 3 per cent to £50.7m which, for the first time ever, accounted for less than 40 per cent of group revenue. However, investment management fees jumped 17 per cent to £36m, while combined income from the administration and corporate services operations rose 11 per cent to £40.9m.