In a statement explaining its decision, the firm highlighted that Allfunds provides segregated accounts, an “increasingly important feature” for UK wealth managers. It also noted the bank’s ability to provide a single legal agreement for transacting a “huge” number of funds on its platform.

“We are confident that this partnership with Allfunds will benefit not only Charles Stanley but intermediaries and their clients as well. We are continually looking to enhance our client offering and will be introducing a number of other measures throughout the coming year,” said Christopher Aldous, head of distribution at Charles Stanley.

Allfunds Bank has over £145 billion assets under administration, with 43,000 funds available on its trading platform and a local presence in Spain, Italy, the UK, Chile, UAE, Colombia and Switzerland. Its clients include private banks, wealth managers, fund managers, commercial banks and brokers.

In its recent trading update, Charles Stanley reported its funds under management had fallen by £300 million to £20.8 billion over 2015 amid “challenging” trading conditions.