Jupiter flying high as assets shoot up 12pc
ASSET manager Jupiter posted a 12 per cent rise in assets under management to £22.2bn at 30 September, trumping analyst forecasts and lifting its shares sharply yesterday.
The company, which listed on the London Stock Exchange this summer, reported net inflows of £734m in its third quarter as investors flocked to its mutual funds, especially its Merlin fund of funds and Sicav products.
The segregated mandate business – in which Jupiter manages money for institutional investors — had net inflows of £210m, benefiting from the funding of a new mandate and additional assets from existing clients.
Jupiter’s shares rose 9.6 per cent to 285p, well up on their 165p June listing price, prompting Numis analysts to upgrade their rating to “add” from “hold” after asset growth outpaced expectations.
“We believe the group deserves a premium valuation to reflect premium growth, low earnings volatility and superior margins,” Numis said in a note yesterday.
Earlier this month, Jupiter launched a Strategic Total Return fund and a Global Convertibles fund to be managed by recent hires Miles Geldard and Lee Manzi. It said that initial flows into these funds had been “encouraging”.
A global emerging markets unit trust run by Kathryn Langridge, who joined in July, will launch in the fourth quarter, Jupiter added.
In its half-year results, Jupiter’s chief executive Edward Bonham-Carter said the hedge funds business was moving onshore and its absolute return funds were delivering strong growth.