Despite a year of news headlines it would probably want to forget one of Gloucestershire's wealthiest companies has proved the old adage - 'money-begets money'.

Or for those who watch the Cirencester-headquartered business more closely, they will know the fourth quarter results reflect its on-going success story.

Gross inflows of funds to wealth manager St James's Place were £3.98 billion - up from £3.95 billion for the same times last year - with closing funds under management also up on the fourth quarter of 2018 from £95.55 blln to £116.99 billion.

Even after stories about staff incentive schemes at the firm, not to mention the 2019 general election, the retention rate for its funds rose from 95.9 per cent to 96 per cent.

Andrew Croft (pictured), chief executive officer, said: "Against a backdrop of continued macro-economic and political uncertainty for much of the final quarter, I am pleased to report a robust set of new business results.

"Gross inflows for the fourth quarter totalled £3.98 billion, representing growth of one per cent against the same period in 2018. This took gross inflows for the year as a whole to £15.10 billion, four per cent lower than 2018.

"Our advisers continued to work hard in supporting clients through a difficult environment, resulting in strong retention of client investments throughout the year and again demonstrating the resilience of our business.

"This contributed to net inflows of £2.44 billion in the final quarter and £8.99 billion for the twelve months, equivalent to some nine per cent of opening funds under management.

"When combined with the impact of positive investment returns, this resulted in closing funds under management of a record £117.0 billion, up 22 per cent since the beginning of the year.

"We are also pleased that by continuing to invest in our recruitment and academy programmes, we have been able to grow the partnership during the year by eight per cent to 4,271 advisers, strengthening our ability to serve and advise clients well.

"Although uncertainties remain for the UK, the Parliamentary majority following the general election in December provides for longer-term political stability.

"Following this outcome, we are encouraged to have seen improved investor sentiment and activity which, together with the strength and scale of our business today, gives us confidence that we are well placed to continue to grow."

As for the aforementioned news stories Mr Croft told the Evening Standard: "It would be naive to say that negative coverage can be positive for the business, but the numbers show we've knuckled down and continued to look after our clients. Most people inside SJP would say they didn't recognise how we were being portrayed."