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(Reuters) – Shares in Jupiter Fund Management hit a record low on Tuesday after the firm reported bigger than expected net outflows in its third quarter as it grapples with muted retail investor appetite and volatile markets amid high inflation.
Jupiter reported net outflows of 1 billion pounds ($1.22 billion) for the period to Sept. 30, against analyst consensus forecasts of 600 million pounds, sending its stock down 11% at 0815 GMT.
The share reaction coincides with the first anniversary of Matt Beesley’s accession to CEO and follows a year of significant change at Jupiter, including a rationalisation of its fund range in an increasingly competitive UK funds industry.
Assets under management stood at 50.8 billion pounds by the end of September, compared with 51.4 billion pounds at end-June.
The company reported institutional assets under management of 9.8 billion pounds, higher than the 9.6 billion consensus expectations, and said it was confident of securing further mandates over subsequent reporting periods.
Market volatility caused by geopolitical tensions and stubborn UK inflation are encouraging some investors to pare investment risk, cashing out of some UK and European equity funds, and park more cash into money market and high-quality bond funds.
“Despite the challenging market environment, we expect our financial performance for the current year to be in line with expectations,” Beesley said in a statement.
“Whilst progress will not be linear, the growth of our institutional and international businesses are encouraging indications of our ability to increase scale and grow our appeal to a broader range of clients,” he added.
Separately on Tuesday, wealth manager St James’s Place said its third-quarter net inflows more than halved to 910 million pounds from a year earlier.
Its funds under management at end September stood at 158.57 billion pounds, up from 157.5 billion at the end of June.
($1 = 0.8201 pounds)
