City Lon Inv Share News (CLIG)

LONDON (Alliance News) - City of London Investment Group PLC said Wednesday its funds under management decreased in a "period of volatility" in the first half.

At December 31, the investment management company's funds under management stood at USD4.6 billion compared to USD5.1 billion at June 30, a 9.8% decrease.

City of London said net flows in the period decreased by 42%. The firm's Developed and Opportunistic Value strategies recorded combined net inflows of USD136 million.

The Emerging Markets and Frontier strategies saw net outflows of USD157, an 11% decrease, million and USD21 million, a 20% decrease, respectively.

The investment manager said negative investment performances were negative in its Developed, Opportunistic Value and Frontier strategies.

City of London said: "Generally, a combination of net asset value performance and discount widening, relating to year-end tax-loss selling in the US, affected relative performance."

The investment manager did note, however, its Emerging Markets strategy, which shed about USD473 million in funds, outperformed expectations in the period. City of London attributed the outperformance to "narrowing discounts" and "good" country allocation.

The company expects pretax profit for the six months to the end of December 31 of GBP5.2 million, down from GBP6.6 million the year before.

The investment manager is scheduled to announce its interim results on February 18.

Shares in City of London were down 0.4% Wednesday at 373.50 pence each.