14th Jan 2016 08:12
LONDON (Alliance News) - Two London-listed money managers Thursday reported contrasting fortunes over the course of the final three months of 2015, with assets under management rising at Jupiter Fund Management PLC and falling at Ashmore Group PLC.
Jupiter Fund Management, which focuses primarily on equity investing, reported assets under management of GBP35.67 billion at the end of 2015, up from the GBP33.53 billion seen three months earlier, thanks to net inflows of GBP496.0 million, driven by its mutual funds, while market movements added another GBP1.65 billion. The period marks the fourth quarter of the equity and multi-manager product investment manager's financial year.
"2015 has been another good year for Jupiter, reflecting our strategy to diversify by product, client type and geography, all supported by strong investment performance. Across the whole of 2015, these combined to deliver organic mutual fund flow growth of 8% and to increase total assets under management by 12% to GBP35.7 billion despite broadly flat markets," Maarten Slendebroek said in a statement.
Shares in Jupiter were down 1.1% at 427.80 pence in early trade on Thursday, with the stock up about 24% in the past year.
On the other hand, Ashmore, an emerging market debt specialist with some exposure to equities, said assets under management fell over the same three-month period, marking its second quarter. The group estimated that assets under management amounted to USD49.4 billion at the end of 2015, down from USD51.1 billion three months earlier, with the decline coming due to net outflows of money amid flat investment performance.
"Some market uncertainty has been removed with the long-awaited increase in US interest rates. As anticipated, the initial market reaction was benign, following a period in which emerging markets asset prices had adjusted to the prospect of higher rates. Historically, the early stages of US rate cycles have provided a supportive backdrop for emerging markets fixed income, and attractive yields across sovereign and corporate markets suggest these asset classes are well placed to enjoy decent performance," Chief Executive Mark Coombs said in a statement.
"The market weakness and volatility experienced in early 2016, notably in Chinese equity markets, will doubtless lead to some investors maintaining a cautious stance; considering the price adjustments of the past 18 months, this approach will risk missing some very good performance in emerging markets assets as their attractive fundamentals begin to show through," Coombs added.
Shares in Ashmore were up 0.5% at 225.00p on Thursday morning in early trade, with the stock down about 12% in the past year.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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