Business-watchers county-wide will know St James's Place manages mind-boggling sums of money for its clients, but we can now reveal that pot is at record levels.

Funds under management at the Gloucestershire firm now total £112.8 billion with the inflow of monies over the three months to September 30 alone amounting to £3.74 billion.

It is marginally less money than came in for the comparable three months in 2018 - where the total was £3.83 billion - but it will all be welcome news for a firm which has found itself in a headlines of late for very different reasons.

The Financial Ombudsman Service raised 'serious concerns' after reports a top advisor misled an investor, leaving her with a capital gains tax bill. According to The Times newspaper, it was a story that showed the "huge pressure SJP's team are under to attract customers — and their money — to meet sales targets".

Andrew Croft (pictured), chief executive at the Cirencester-headquartered business, said he was pleased to be able to report "another good quarter for St. James's Place".

"In the three months to the end of September, new and existing clients entrusted us with £3.74 billion of new funds," said Mr Croft.

"Through the excellent work of our partners and their staff in building and maintaining close relationships with clients, we are also able to report continued strong retention, resulting in net inflows for the quarter of £2.11 billion, equivalent to 7.7 per cent of opening funds under management on an annualised basis.

"These positive inflows helped increase funds under management to a record £112.8 billion, some 18 per cent higher year to-date.

"In what remains an uncertain external environment, these figures once again highlight the resilience of our business model and the outstanding role our partners and support staff play in providing for trusted, long-term financial advice to our clients.

"While political and macro-economic uncertainty may affect the pace of some discretionary investment flows from time to time, it has no bearing on the continuing need for holistic, long-term financial planning.

"Indeed, we see demand for sound, personal and trusted financial advice growing while at the same time the 'advice gap' remains.

"I take great pride in the scale and professionalism of the St James's Place Partnership and I am confident that our comprehensive and distinct client proposition, which is highly valued by our clients, means we are well positioned to continue to grow over the medium to long-term."