Charles Stanley’s cost-cutting drive appears to be bearing fruit, with the firm’s pre-tax profit figure for the first half of its 2020 financial year up 59 percent on the same period last year.

The wealth manager posted a profit for the six months to 30 September 2019 of £8.1 million, up from £5.1 million in 2018/19.

Total funds under management and administration decreased marginally from £25 billion at 30 September 2018 to £24.6 billion.

However, the mix shifted towards discretionary funds, and combined with a repricing project plus growing revenues from the financial planning division, there was a â...