Kleinwort Benson posts threefold rise in profit to €7.4m

Dublin-based asset management firm Kleinwort Benson Investors (KBI) has posted a threefold increase in operating profits to €7.4 million, on the back of increasing revenues.

The company grew its 2014 revenues to €24.6 million, an increase of 58 per cent year on year. Operating profit from the year rose to €7.4 million, up from €2.5 million in 2013.

KBI’s combined assets under management, across both wholesale and institutional markets, reached €6.9 billion at 31 December 2014, an increase of €1.5 billion on year end 2013 and €3.3 billion on 2012.

While KBI’s clients are not typically disclosed, the firm said it was awarded significant mandates from a number of investors in the public funds arena last year, including the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension Fund and the Shetland Islands Pension Fund.

KBI chief executive Sean Hawkshaw said the company has been particularly successful in growing its share of the North American market, which represents almost half of its assets under management.

“As a relatively modest sized asset management boutique, based in Dublin, away from the noise of London and New York, it is gratifying to see the momentum we have managed to build over the past two years,” he said.

“It is great to be able to take on big companies internationally, and win mandates ahead of them,” he added.