Magellan outflows continue in April

Magellan Financial Group has disclosed that it experienced $2.4 billion in net outflows during April, including net institutional outflows of $2.0 billion and net retail outflows of $0.4 billion.

In a monthly update released to the ASX on Thursday, Magellan reported $42.7 billion in FUM as at 28 April, down from $43.2 billion in March.

The fund manager’s institutional FUM fell from $24.5 billion at the end of March to $23.5 billion at the end of April, while retail FUM lifted slightly from $18.7 billion to $19.2 billion.

Australian equities FUM dropped by $1.5 billion to $4.5 billion. Meanwhile, slight increases were reported for global equities FUM, which rose from $20.7 billion to $20.9 billion, and infrastructure equities FUM, which rose from $16.5 billion to $17.3 billion.

The results follow almost $4 billion in net outflows for March, which continues a long-term trend for the fund manager.

In its half-year results released in February, Magellan noted that its average FUM over the half year ended 31 December 2022 was 52 per cent lower at $53.8 billion. The fund manager ended 2022 with a total of $45.3 billion in FUM.

At the time, Magellan chief executive and chief investment officer David George said while the firm has experienced a period of “accelerated and substantial change” in recent times, “we now have a well-defined and actionable five-year strategy which builds upon the qualities that have made us 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.”

The outflows and FUM declines seen in March come after Magellan confirmed that Airlie Funds Management founder John Sevior is set to retire in June this year.

Mr Sevior founded Airlie in 2012 following 17 years in investment management and leadership roles at Perpetual. Airlie then went on to be acquired by Magellan in 2018.