Advisory network Intrinsic, which was bought by Old Mutual early last year, saw pension and annuity sales increase by 23% in the first quarter of this year against the same period in 2014.
Intrinsic also saw overall sales soar by 65% in quarter one of 2015 and is now looking to recruit more financial planners.
“The pension freedoms have been like a shot of adrenaline to the financial services industry,” said Old Mutual Wealth’s chief executive, Paul Feeney.
“Even before they were introduced we saw increased demand for financial advice, flexible pension products and packaged investment solutions as people got ready for the changes.
“Dampening appetite”
“We hope the new government will recognise the benefit of continuity,” he said. “Further changes risk dampening appetite for long-term saving and creating additional complexity in the pension taxation system.”
Old Mutual’s overall results indicate a 16% rise in gross sales, reaching £4.6bn ($7.1bn, €6.5bn) in the first quarter of 2015 from £3.9bn in the same period last year. This, it said, was partly driven by strong pension sales.
“One thing that is very clear is that we will continue to see strong demand for financial advice this year as people embrace new and more flexible ways of funding the later parts of their lives,” said Feeney.
Despite reporting a drop in sales and profit throughout 2014, Old Mutual International also performed well throughout its global markets during the first quarter of this year, reporting £128m in net cash flow, a 44% increase against the previous year’s £89m.
Gross sales were 10% higher, standing at £500m against 2014’s £400m.
Excluding acquisitions and disposals, including the purchase of Quilter Cheviot, the group’s funds under management increased 5% from the end of last year, standing at £102.3bn in the first quarter of 2015.
In January, Old Mutual launched its Wealth Management Plan in Hong Kong to take advantage of the new regulations in the market.
