Charles Stanley 'cautious' as commission income falls

Charles Stanley has said it is approaching the coming months with caution in the face of falling commission income, and significant costs to invest in the business.

In its results covering the first quarter of its financial year, the three months to 30 June, Charles Stanley Group’s directors said they had been “disappointed by the poor performance of commission income, which has been impacted by a drop in transaction volumes.” The results noted a drop in commission income of 16.4% to £12.7m, compared to £15.2m in June 2013. However, this fall was offset by a 13.4% rise in fee income, up from £21.7m to £24.6m. Investment management fee income in particular increased by 21%, from £10m to £12.1m, reflecting changes to the firm’s charging structure int...