By Chris Dorrell
Investors continued to pull money from fund manager Premier Milton, but assets under management (AuM) still improved while the firm’s leadership hoped to move on from the recent “challenging” environment.
AuM climbed to £10.7bn at the end of March, up from £9.8bn in the same period last year. This largely reflected the addition of £560m AuM through the acquisition of Tellworth Investments.
It also highlighted strong returns, with market movements adding £937m to the firm’s AuM.
However, clients continued to pull funds amid a difficult environment for fund managers, as the firm reported outflows of £486m in the period.
The firm’s adjusted pretax profit fell 28 per cent to £5.7m from £7.9m in the same period last year.
Chair Robert Colthorpe noted that while that had been some recovery in several investment markets, there was “weak industry level net flows” from UK retail and wholesale investors.
Looking forward, he said there were “more encouraging signs on the horizon” as interest rates fall. “Whilst this has yet to result in significant positive net inflows for us, we are very well prepared to respond when it does,” he added.
Mike O’Shea, chief executive, said:”The backdrop for active fund sales in the UK retail market has been challenging over the period, as it has been since interest rates began to rise at the end of 2021.
“We are now at a point where interest rates are likely to trend lower as we move through 2024 and we believe this will support an improving environment for fund flows and asset values. Demand for savings products will remain high as savers and investors need to do more to secure their individual long term financial futures,” he continued.
“Active managers such as Premier Miton have a role to play in managing these savings. To do so, our funds must demonstrate that they can add value, over and above the returns from the major indices, by having robust investment processes; well-researched portfolios, often with high active shares and high tracking errors; and by delivering out-performance,” O’Shea finished.
