(Reuters) - British wealth manager St. James's Place Plc (L:SJP) posted a 17 percent rise in funds under management as more affluent clients sought out its services after the government increased the amount that could be invested in individual savings accounts.
St James's Place, which was sold by majority owner Lloyds Banking Group (L:LLOY) last December, said it was well positioned to meet its medium-term objectives.
Funds under management rose to 49.1 billion pounds ($78.46 billion) as on Sept. 30 from 41.8 billion pounds a year earlier.
"We believe that this set of results is evidence of continuing growth momentum, even given tougher market conditions," JPMorgan Cazenove analyst Ashik Musaddi wrote in a note, reiterating his "overweight" rating on the stock.
St James's Place posted net inflows of 1.27 billion pounds in the three months ended Sept. 30, up 23 percent on last year.
The company said after nine months, growth in new investments to 5.8 billion pounds was 21 percent higher than the same period last year.
The company's shares closed at 688 pence on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)