British wealth manager St James's Place plans to add three funds to its range next month after it continued to defy the global financial gloom in 2011 with robust sales, according to Reuters. Chief Executive David Bellamy told Reuters on Thursday that the firm, which outsources management of its portfolio, would launch the new funds, to be run by PIMCO, Invesco and Blackrock, on Feb. 1. PIMCO will run a multi-asset fund, Invesco a global equity income fund, while Blackrock will manage an index-linked gilt fund to be offered as part of a new defensive investment portfolio for cautious clients. Bellamy also said the firm will conduct a review of the managers of existing funds, of which it has more than 30, in April. St James's Place, which is majority owned by Lloyds Banking Group, released a trading statement on Thursday, showing it had continued to attract more money and add to its affluent clientele throughout 2011. The net inflow of funds under management during 2011 was 3.3 billion pounds ($5.1 billion), bringing total funds to 28.5 billion pounds. Total new business, measured using a combination of single and regular premiums, was up 10 percent at 642.3 million pounds over the year, meeting the expectations of analysts. On Thursday Jupiter Fund Management said it had lost 225 million pounds in assets during the final quarter of 2011, including 93 million pounds from its mutual funds. Aberdeen Asset Management saw client outflows accelerate at the end of last year as investors fretted over the euro zone crisis. Bellamy put St James's Place ability to buck the industry trend down to the appeal of its model using a broad range of outsourced funds, with investments sold by a staff of client-facing 'partners'. -- SPA
