Perpetual reports $472m loss, chair D’Aloisio to retire
Perpetual has announced asset management outflows of $18.4 billion for FY24, while chairman Tony D’Aloisio is to retire from the board after eight years.
In its full year FY24 results, the firm said total assets under management were $215 billion, up 1 per cent, driven by market performance and investment outperformance.
However, net outflows were $18.4 billion which the firm acknowledged was “greater than expected”. These were mostly driven by outflows from J O Hambro after the exit of fund manager Alex Savvides and international equity arm TSW.
This led the firm to report a statutory net loss after tax of $472 million, compared to a net profit after tax of $59 million in the previous years.
It noted it saw “positive momentum” in net flows in Australia driven by its Australian credit and fixed income capabilities, but that Pendal was impacted by small institutional client losses and a superannuation fund client merger.
The Pendal acquisition is “essentially completed” and meant Perpetual realised $81.6 million in synergies since the transaction closed.
Perpetual chief executive Rob Adams said: “In asset management, while we have seen some of the positive impact of the incorporation of Pendal Group into our business, our performance in FY24 was impacted by larger than anticipated net outflows, which was clearly disappointing.
“Outflows were concentrated in J O Hambro’s Global and International Select strategies as well as its UK Dynamic strategy following the departure of a portfolio manager. We also experienced net outflows in TSW’s International equities capability, driven by partial redemptions from clients due to portfolio rebalancing and asset allocation shifts.”
A final dividend of 0.53¢ per share was declared, 50 per cent franked.
Board changes
Meanwhile, the firm announced chair Tony D’Aloisio will retire. He has sat on the board as a director since 2016 and has been its chair since 2017.
This retirement will follow the completion of the sale of its corporate trust and wealth management business to KKR in early 2025.
Gregory Cooper, who is currently deputy chairman, will transition to chair upon D’Aloisio’s exit, and given the narrower focus on asset management post the sale, the board will reduce from nine to seven directors.
As well as this, Ian Hammond and Nancy Fox will retire in October 2024 in line with the board rotation. The firm said it is “well advanced” in seeking replacement for independent non-executive directors.
Last week, the firm announced former Australian Retirement Trust chief executive, Bernard Reilly, would be taking over from Rob Adams as group chief executive.
More to come
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Recommended for you
Pendal has told investors it will start winding up its Enhanced Credit fund from December, its third fund closure this year.
A potential acquisition of Platinum Asset Management by Regal Partners will be beneficial for the “challenged” fund manager, believes Morningstar, but it has warned fund management mergers don’t always run smoothly.
Fund managers made a “big shift” into bond-sensitive sectors like utilities in September and away from cyclicals, while risk appetite is at an 11-month low.
Ahead of the RBA’s upcoming monetary policy meeting next week, BlackRock Australasia has reaffirmed the market’s view that rate cuts are likely out of the picture for 2024.
