Quilter beats inflow forecasts but assets drop amid tariff troubles

(Reuters) -British wealth manager Quilter exceeded net-inflow expectations for the first quarter on Wednesday, but said its assets in the first few weeks of April trailed quarter-end levels by about 3%, a consequence of market volatility sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's volley of tariffs.

Quilter's net inflows rose to 2.18 billion pounds ($2.90 billion) at the end of first quarter in March, before Trump's tariffs were announced, the company said in a statement. That figure surpassed analyst expectations of 1.6 billion pounds, according to estimates published by investment bank Panmure Liberum.

Shares of the company rose as much as 2.7% to 135.5 pence. They have fallen about 14% so far this year.

While the money manager's inflows mounted, its March-end assets were largely unchanged at 119.6 billion pounds, due to market declines in the quarter, a trend Quilter saw trickling into the second quarter.

"Thus far in the second quarter we have seen significant volatility across all asset classes, as bond and equity markets have reacted to proposed U.S. tariffs," CEO Steven Levin said in the statement.

Trump's policies have rocked global markets since their announcement, heightening volatility and stoking recession fears amid suspended and retaliatory tariffs.

Levin added that tariffs have made the outlook for market levels and interest rates more uncertain, which if sustained, would prove to be a headwind for full-year revenues and profitability.

Jefferies analysts expect Quilter's 3% asset reduction, which implies assets under management and administration currently standing at about 116 billion pounds, to be an indication of how asset managers in the rest of the sector will fare.

Last week, hedge fund Man Group said its assets dipped by nearly $6 billion in the first two weeks of April amid fallout from Trump's tariffs.

($1 = 0.7506 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Christian Schmollinger)