The Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS) share price has climbed 3% higher this morning after reporting strong gross platform inflows and record UK/International inflows in the March 2019 quarter.
What did Praemium announce this morning?
Praemium's first quarter highlights included:
- » Combined quarterly gross platform inflows of $744 million;
- » UK/International gross platform inflows of $234 million (£127 million), the highest on record;
- » Net platform inflows of $438 million (reported for the first time); and
- » Platform FUA of $8.9 billion, up 13% over the quarter from strong inflows and improving equity
The company also noted that it had reached several important business milestones, including a highly positive response to its global rebrand and marketing campaign for Praemium's Integrated Managed Accounts platform.
Praemium's UK platform won "Best Fund Platform" at the City of London Wealth Management Awards (COLWMA) against a large field of nominees after the company's International Platform of the Year win in October 2018.
Positively for the company's growth prospects, the quarterly results noted the expansion of the company's Virtual Managed Account (VMA) reporting solution to Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Australia, with incremental revenue of $1 million among other significant contract expansions or extensions.
Praemium also released its next-generation integrated wealth managed accounts platform to the market during the March 2019 quarter under the banner 'Welcome to the Upgrade'.
Should you buy Praemium shares?
The Praemium share price has plunged 30% lower this year on the back of a weaker growth outlook and the loss of a couple of big contracts in recent months.
I'm personally not bullish on the wealth management services sector which also includes the likes of major players HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) and Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL).
While HUB and Netwealth have seen their share prices soar so far this year, I think competition in the sector could eat into margins and lower profitability for these major players in the near future.
For those who want to look elsewhere for growth, this top-rated stock could boost portfolio gains as it continues to soar in a $22 billion industry.
