Rathbone Brothers, the wealth management firm based in London and Liverpool, reported a 16 per cent year-on-year rise in pre-tax profits dur...

Rathbone Brothers, the wealth management firm based in London and Liverpool, reported a 16 per cent year-on-year rise in pre-tax profits during the first half of 2005. The company said pre-tax profit for the period came in at £16.1 million ($29.4 million), up from £13.3 million in the same period last year. However, the figure does not include a one-off expense of £1.4 million associated with Rathbone’s abortive attempt to buy rival Rensburg earlier this year. Total funds under management rose by 9.1 per cent in the first half to £8.4 billion, compared with the figure at the end of 2004. Funds managed by Rathbone Unit Trust Management increased by 20.2 per cent over the period to £983 million and have now risen to over £1 billion. “The increase in funds under management is testimony to our ability to attract and retain client funds,” said Mark Powell, chairman of the group, in a results statement. He added: “We remain committed to providing a segregated investment management service for clients with sums in excess of £100,000…Plans are well underway for an increased marketing effort in relation to self invested personal pensions in anticipation of legislative changes next year.” In an interview with Reuters on the possibility of future acquisitions chief executive Andrew Pomfret said: "We are always on the look-out for acquisitions, either teams or other companies. The Rensburg experience has done nothing to put us off that.” He added: "Corporate acquisitions are more likely than just recruiting teams of people."