Financial advisory network Openwork reported on Tuesday that assts on its platform increased 11% to £6.9bn ($8.6bn, €7.8bn) for the year ending 31 December 2018.
Profit before tax rose 18.3% in the year, with shareholders set to collectively receive a £2m dividend.
Targeted recruitment
As part of its financial results, Openwork announced that its network now has around 3,900 advisers operating across the UK.
The firm is increasing its investment in adviser recruitment, with the Openwork Academy welcoming 54 trainees to the scheme so far in 2019. This nearly equals the total intake for 2018.
Since its foundation in 2014, the academy has trained and qualified more than 150 advisers.
Increase access to advice
Commenting on the results, chief executive Mark Duckworth said: “2018 was a significant year in the development of Openwork as we became an independent business in April.
“It is therefore very pleasing to be able to report strong results whilst also investing in the future. We are growing the scale of our advice business across our diversified offering and this has meant we have been able to help more clients than ever.
“That is enabling us to invest in our academy to develop more advisers, as well as in our front-end systems to enable our advisers to serve our clients more effectively.
“The record intake to the Openwork Academy in particular underlines our commitment to increase access to advice so more people across the UK can receive the expert help they need to create and protect wealth for themselves and their families.
“This will remain a strategic priority of the business throughout 2019 and beyond. “
