Mattioli Woods plans discretionary launch for advised clients

AIM-listed pension advisory firm Mattioli Woods plans to achieve discretionary status and will target the service at its advised clients and IFAs using its pension administration services.

Mattioli Woods chairman Bob Woods (pictured) said that the Leicester-based company's investment team already had the necessary qualifications to run discretionary portfolios, and that it was looking to launch the service in June next year.

He said the move was a response to client demand for the service following the volatility that hit markets during the financial meltdown.

'We've always been aware we would have a demand for discretionary,' he said. 'But pre-credit crunch there was no real need to see or advise clients more than once or twice a year.'

Mattioli Woods will target the service at its nearly £700 million of assets under advice and at IFAs who use its pension administrations service acquired following the buy-out of City Trustees from IFA national Lighthouse Group.

Woods added that it would also look to market its investment services, including its suite of structured products and property syndicates, at advisers who use City Trustees services.

The company has announced in its results increased profits by 9.2% to £4.5 million and funds under trusteeship by 8.2% to £1.7 billion as clients moved out of cash.

In its results for the year ended 31 May 2010, chairman Bob Woods (pictured) said that increasing investor confidence in the second half of the period had helped to boost revenues.

'Whilst revenues in the first half were affected by difficult investment conditions, in the second half we saw clients increasingly willing to invest away from the safe haven of cash, resulting in second half revenues up by 10.3% on the equivalent period last year to £7.1 million,' he said.

The Leicester-based company will pay out a total dividend for the year of 4.35p, an increase of 11.5% on last year's payment.