Magellan Aussie equity FUM falls by a third
Magellan has seen funds under management fall to $43.2 billion.
This was down from $45.4 billion at the end of February.
Retail FUM was $18.7 billion, a small increase from $18.4 billion in the previous month, while institutional flows fell from $27 billion to $24.5 billion.
Looking at specific asset classes, global equities and infrastructure equities both reported positive flows of $20.1 billion to $20.7 billion for global equities and $16.3 billion to $16.5 billion for infrastructure equities.
However, Australian equities fell by a third, from $9 billion to $6 billion.
During the month, it was announced that John Sevior, founder of Airlie Funds Management, would depart. Airlie was acquired by Magellan in 2018 and served as the firm’s Australian equity offering.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the fund manager said: “In March, Magellan experienced outflows of $3.9 billion, which included net retail outflows of $0.5 billion and net institutional outflows of $3.4 billion”.
Funds under management at the start of 2023 were $50.2 billion.
However, chief executive and chief investment officer David George has announced a five-year plan for assets to reach $100 billion.
This included improving the performance of the firm’s flagship Global fund, diversifying the product mix and making acquisitions.
“We will be looking for opportunities to invest in experienced, quality teams and capabilities in equities, and we believe we can replicate the integration success of Airlie,” he said in October.
“As time moves forward and we are again delivering client outcomes through performance, we will look toward areas like private markets as allocation to this segment is growing in our clients’ portfolios. Where we can and where it makes sense, we will grow alongside their needs.”
Recommended for you
Outflows from an Australian private markets fund manager have caused FUM at Pacific Current to decline by $1 billion in the last quarter.
Former RIAA chief executive Simon O’Connor has joined the ethical advisory panel at U Ethical Investors.
Financial services leaders are “all cashed up with nowhere to grow” when it comes to M&A activity, according to Deloitte, with 90 per cent saying they have strong balance sheets ready for an acquisition.
As fund managers are urged to diversify their product ranges, they are finding a faster way to do this is via an acquisition of existing firms but experts say it is not without potential culture clashes.