Pension fund growth helps Gartmore to pounds 24.6m profit

GARTMORE, the leading pension fund manager, won pounds 4.2bn of net new business last year while increasing its funds under management by almost two-thirds to pounds 21bn, writes Paul Durman.

The business secured included pounds 3.7bn from pension fund clients. Gartmore attracted more than 100 new clients for its pooled investment service.

Gartmore's chairman Paul Myners said the performance was 'exceptional, and unlikely to be repeated by many in our industry on a frequent basis'. The additional funds helped Gartmore to make a pre-tax profit of pounds 24.6m in 1992, beating the forecast of pounds 22.8m made during its flotation last November.

After stripping out one-off costs, the results show an 83 per cent increase in underlying profits to pounds 27.3m. Expenses rose by 17 per cent to pounds 41.3m.

Gartmore's investment performance failed to match the success of 1992, when it was the top-performing firm. The company will pay its first dividend in October.