Magellan experiences another FUM fall

Magellan Financial Group has declared that it had $45.4 billion in funds under management (FUM) at the end of February, $800 million or 1.7 per cent lower than a month earlier.

In a monthly update released to the ASX on Monday, the fund manager said that it experienced net outflows of $0.8 billion in February, including net retail outflows of $0.5 billion and net institutional outflows of $0.3 billion.

Compared to the end of January, institutional FUM fell from $27.2 billion to $27.0 billion while retail FUM moved down from $19.0 billion to $18.4 billion.

Global equities FUM dropped from $20.8 billion to $20.1 billion, infrastructure equities FUM slipped from $16.4 billion to $16.3 billion and Australian equities FUM remained steady at $9.0 billion.

In its half-year results released last month, Magellan reported that its average FUM for the half year ended 31 December 2022 was down 52 per cent to $53.8 billion.

At the time, Magellan chief executive officer and chief investment officer David George said that, while the firm has recently experienced a period of “accelerated and substantial change”, it now has a “a well-defined and actionable five-year strategy” that builds on the qualities that made it successful.

“Meaningful transformation takes time. Whilst it is still early days, I can report that we are making good progress in delivering on our FY23 strategic priorities and are encouraged by the improving trends that are emerging,” Mr George said.

“In the last six months, we have launched new strategies, refined our plan around staff retention, and enhanced our investment process to improve how we collaborate and generate ideas. These are key first steps in delivering on our five-year target of $100 billion in funds under management by 2027.”

Magellan’s adjusted net profit after tax was down 60 per cent compared to a year earlier at $98.3 million, while statutory net profit after tax sunk 67 per cent to $83.8 million.

Jon Bragg

Jon Bragg is a journalist for Momentum Media's Investor Daily, nestegg and ifa. He enjoys writing about a wide variety of financial topics and issues and exploring the many implications they have on all aspects of life.