Nucleus set for profit as assets rise to £2.8bn

Platform provider Nucleus has increased its assets under administration to £2.8 billion and said it remained on track to break into sustainable profit at the end of the third quarter of this year.

The wrap's inflows reached £366 million in the first three months of 2011, up 36% from £270 million over the same period last year and up 16% from the £315 million inflows it recorded in the last quarter of 2010.

It has reported a rise in assets under administration to £2.6 billion at the end of the first quarter. Assets have since risen to £2.8 billion, double the £1.4 billion under administration at the end of the first quarter of 2010.

The wrap also saw significant growth in the number of advisers now using the wrap, with 11 firms joining in the first quarter of 2011, compared to 14 in the whole of 2010. There are now 1,100 advisers using the wrap.

Nucleus chief executive David Ferguson (pictured) said it had been a good quarter for the company. He said most new business had come from existing advisers, and predicted that growth for the rest of the year would come from new joiners placing business on the platform.

He added investment in infrastructure and a national sales force had helped boost the number of IFAs Nucleus were able to sign up.

‘We are in discussions with about 82 firms and we never found that before,’ he said. ‘We invested in a UK wide sales team which started six months ago. They couldn’t deliver immediately but we are now in lots of active discussions.’

‘It’s a big step change and we have spent a lot on infrastructure and put resources into risk and compliance and back office, non market facing functions, as we knew we would see growth in assets on the platform.’

‘We are on target to be profitable at the back end of Q3 on a sustainable basis, we dipped in and out last year but then went for a big business plan and that pushed us back in the red.’