Platinum returns to FUM decline as it awaits revised Regal bid
Platinum Asset Management has announced its funds under management fell during October, a return to outflows after a gain in the previous month.
In a monthly update, the asset manager said FUM decreased from $12.46 billion to $12.17 billion during October.
The firm said it experienced net outflows of $416 million which includes net outflows from its Platinum Trust Funds of $343 million.
In the previous month, it saw FUM increase from $12.22 billion to $12.46 billion which was the first FUM increase since February 2024. However, October saw it return to decreasing FUM.
This is the largest net outflow since April when the firm saw heavy redemptions of $1.6 billion as the result of a withdrawal of a large institutional mandate and product rationalisation initiatives.
Since the start of FY25, FUM has fallen from $13 billion to $12.1 billion.
The asset manager is currently in discussions with Regal Partners regarding a possible acquisition. Platinum initially unanimously rejected Regal’s first bid but later announced they would allow Regal an initial period of due diligence in which to potentially make a revised bid.
This time will allow Regal to improve the value and terms of its proposal, which has been acknowledged by Regal as the basis for the initial engagement, and for Platinum to assess the absolute and relative value of Regal share consideration and the costs and benefits of any combination.
It noted there is no guarantee that discussions with Regal will progress or that it will submit a revised proposal.
The Platinum board said it remains open to other proposals from Regal or other third parties if they are on terms that deliver appropriate value for Platinum shareholders.
October has been a slow month for fund managers in terms of flows, with GQG Partners also reporting its first FUM decline in 12 months and Magellan Financial Group seeing its FUM unchanged.
GQG Partners confirmed in an ASX update that its FUM declined from US$161.6 billion ($245 billion) at the end of September to US$159.4 billion as at 31 October 2024. It had enjoyed consecutive FUM growth over the past year, meaning this represented its first decline since October 2023.
Meanwhile, Magellan saw its FUM unchanged at $38 billion as it launched two new funds with Vinva Investment Management.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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