LONDON (Alliance News) - Polar Capital Holdings PLC said Monday that fund inflows and positive market movements resulted in an increase in assets under management in the first half of its financial year.
The company's assets under management at September 30 stood at GBP14.7 billion, up 23% from GBP12.0 billion at March 31, with net fund inflows contributing GBP932 million and positive market movements adding GBP1.8 billion. As at October 31, the company's assets under management stood at GBP13.6 billion.
"While we have had a highly satisfactory first six months, there is no doubt that we will encounter more volatile markets and a reduction in risk appetite by investors as developed markets begin to reduce accommodative monetary policy in the case of Europe and Japan and as the US continues to normalise interest rates with monetary tightening," Chief Executive Gavin Rochussen said.
"Our active, bottom-up, fundamental fund strategies have exposure to all global markets and are positioned to take advantage of valuation anomalies that arise in good quality, publicly-traded companies," Rochussen added.
The fund manager also said that its UK business is unlikely to be affected after the UK formally leaves the EU in March 2019, and it has opened a new unit in France to handle all European activities due to uncertainties over Brexit trade deal.
The company has three UK-resident products, all of which are closed-end investment trusts that are not marketed into continental Europe. The trusts make up GBP2.5 billion in assets under management, 17% of the total group assets.
For the six months to September 30, Polar Capital recorded pretax profit of GBP27.3 million, more than doubled from GBP11.7 million in the year ago period, on a revenue of GBP74.5 million and GBP44.4 million, respectively. Core profit, excluding performance fees and other income, increased by 81% to GBP21.7 million from GBP12 million in the comparable prior year period.
Polar Capital declared an interim dividend per share of 8.0 pence, up from 6.0p a year ago. Shares in the company were trading 1.9% lower at 488.55p on Monday.
Polar Capital (POLR)