Upmarket wealth manager Rathbones is optimistic about the outlook for shares in 2013 after seeing a market-beating 13.4% rise in funds it manages during 2012.
“For the last five years, we have said we are cautiously optimistic,” joked chief executive Andy Pomfret. “This year, we are confident enough to drop the word cautious.”
Total funds under management at the end of last year were just under £18 billion — a rise of 13.4% when the FTSE 100 index increased by 5.9%.
“We are a business that does not like to surprise,” said Pomfret. “And I think we’ve managed that once again.”
He added: “We have got a ‘six’ back at the beginning of the FTSE 100, and I think people are generally feeling more optimistic than they were last year. There are definite signs of people moving more into equities which will benefit us.
“But I think markets are still going to be volatile with factors like the eurozone and sovereign debt still weighing heavily.”
