IFG reports challenges in British pensions business

IFG Group, the UK-focused financial services company, has said it is trading in line with last year, as profit growth in its financial planning business, which is focused on high-net worth individuals, is offset by weakness in its other main unit.

Assets under advice at the group’s Saunderson House division, which advises professionals in the City of London as well as charities and trusts, rose to £4.5 billion (€5.2 billion) at the end of October, from £4 billion in December, as its number of clients grew to 1,945 from 1,809.

However, revenue growth in its other business, James Hay, a leading provider of self-invested personal pension plans in the UK, has slowed compared with last year, the company said on Thursday.

“Our continued investment in that business, together with the fall in [UK] interest rates, has lowered its profits compared to the prior year,” it said.

Still, IFG, which saw its chief executive, Paul McNamara, resign unexpectedly in September after two years, said it remained “well positioned with two profitable businesses” and planned to continue to invest in both.

Mr McNamara was replaced by group finance director John Cotter.

“While the statement clearly signals IFG’s intention to accelerate the implementation of its strategy as it moves into 2017, it is unclear whether it is targeting organic or inorganic means,” said Emer Lang, an analyst with Davy. “It has previously said it is mindful of opportunities to accelerate development through inorganic means where such opportunities are ‘consistent with its overall strategy and the philosophy of our existing businesses’.”

The group, which has undergone significant restructuring in recent years, sold its Irish pension and advisory business as well as its insurance unit last year. While the company remains domiciled in Ireland and its shares listed on the Dublin exchange, it moved its corporate headquarters to London this year.