Jupiter Fund Management’s assets hit record high despite steep outflows
Jupiter Fund Management reported record assets at year-end offsetting an increased level of outflows over the year.
Assets under management (AUM) finished the year at £58.7bn, slightly ahead of the consensus £57.8bn.
The fund manager was no doubt boosted by the defensive acquisition of Merian Global Investors for £390m last July, which added £16.6bn of AUM.
“”This is a year where we made significant progress against our strategic objectives and laid strong foundations for future growth, despite the disruptive impact on financial markets and businesses brought by Covid-19,” chief executive Andrew Formica said.
Shares in the fund manager jumped 2.4 per cent in early trading.
Market volatility weighed on investor sentiment which pushed outflows 11 per cent higher to £4bn, although this was slightly below the expected £4.2bn. This was largely due to redemptions as figures show the group generated gross inflows of £16.5bn, up from the £13.4bn the previous year.
“The business is still seeing outflows – reversing this is key to delivering sustained share price momentum,” Peel Hunt analysts said in a note.
Revenue rose 18 per cent to £447.8m although management fees jumped just four per cent to £384m. Underlying pre-tax profit for the year was £179.0m, up 10 per cent year-on-year.
After scrapping it in 2019, Jupiter reinstated a special dividend of 3 pence per share for the year, bringing total dividends to 20.1 pence for the year.