Colonial leads inflows in March quarter
Colonial First State Investmentsraked in more than $934 million in retail fund inflows over the March quarter, almost $400 million more than its nearest competitor,AMP, according to the latest Assirt market share report.
The inflow figures meant Colonial retained its number one spot on the quarterly inflows charts, which it has now occupied for the past two quarters running. Colonial leapfroggedCommonwealth,National/MLCand AMP to assume the top spot after being positioned third in the September quarter, and fourth in the June quarter last year.
Also moving up the ladder in inflows was AMP which moved to second spot with inflows of more than $549 million, while Money Management/Assirt Fund Manager of the Year award winnersUBS Asset ManagementandPlatinum Asset Managementmade their own charges towards the top.
UBS moved from seventh spot to fifth with inflows of $328 million while Platinum moved from fifth to fourth with $470 million worth of inflows. UBS began its run into the top ten in the September quarter last year when it shot to number nine from 28th position.
Moving down in inflows for the March quarter were National/MLC, which dropped one spot to third ($508 million), andANZ, which dropped from sixth to 10th ($137 million).Challenger, meanwhile, dropped out of the top 10 from having the fourth largest inflows in December, to having the 14th largest in March.
Overall, Assirt notes that the net inflows for the industry dropped 5.3 per cent when compared to the same period 12 months earlier, with the corresponding total inflows being $16.9 billion compared with $17.9 billion. Assirt says the drop reflects a lower level of investment in unit trusts and retail allocated pension products.
“Significantly, Colonial First State has increased its net inflows over the previous quarter while their major competitors, and the market overall, has experienced a decrease,” Assirt’s report says.
In the latter third of the March Quarter, the Commonwealth/Colonial businesses announced an amalgamation plan for their various investment businesses as well as the departure of Colonial’s head of Australian equities, Greg Perry, who will be leaving the bank in June.
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