Ashmore Group Share News (ASHM)

(Sharecast News) - Asset manager Ashmore said on Thursday that assets under management had risen 8% over the three months ended 31 December, hitting $52.5bn on the back of $2.6bn of net inflows and a $1.2bn positive investment performance.

Ashmore said inflows were recorded across both fixed income and equities, with additional allocations into external debt and local currency strategies, as well as new institutional mandates in equities and blended debt.

The FTSE 250-listed firm said the trend reflected growing investor interest in emerging markets through 2025, as allocators looked to diversify away from portfolios heavily concentrated in the US.

Emerging market indices delivered returns of between 1% and 4% over the quarter, supported by solid economic performance, attractive valuations, stronger currencies and tighter spreads.

For the year as a whole, Ashmore said EM fixed income indices returned between 9% and 19%, ahead of the 8% gain for developed‑market bonds, while EM equity benchmarks rose between 19% and 35%, outperforming the S&P 500's 16% increase. It also said its active strategies continued to generate alpha across both asset classes.

Chief executive Mark Coombs said: "Ashmore delivered good AuM growth over the quarter with meaningful net inflows across fixed income and equities investment themes, in both global and local businesses, and continued strong investment performance for clients. It is clear that investors are acting upon the attractive risk/reward opportunities available across emerging markets and are benefiting from the continued outperformance of these markets.

"The near-term outlook for emerging countries is underpinned by continued superior economic growth compared with the developed world, relatively low or falling inflation and central banks cutting interest rates in many countries, the potential for market-friendly election outcomes in the coming year, and the benefits of a weaker US dollar. This positive environment, together with the pressure on overweight US positions, supports additional allocations to the emerging markets asset classes and an increasingly complex geopolitical situation underpins the need for active investment management to deliver outperformance."

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com