Praemium SMA inflows jump in ‘very positive quarter’

Praemium has reported net inflows of $206 million for the September quarter, an increase of 69 per cent on the $80 million in net inflows seen in the June quarter.

According to Praemium chief executive officer Anthony Wamsteker, the flows environment gained momentum during the September quarter when compared to the previous three quarters.

But in an update to the ASX on Wednesday, he noted that a “very positive quarter” for the Praemium scheme was impacted by “non-systemic outflows” from Powerwrap in August.

Quarterly net inflows for Praemium separately managed accounts (SMA) jumped by 222 per cent, from $80 million in the June quarter to $257 million in the September quarter.

“The Praemium SMA scheme is our cornerstone product and highest revenue margin service,” Mr Wamsteker said.

"It achieved quarterly net inflows of $257 million. On an annualised basis, this represents approximately 11 per cent of the quarter’s opening FUA, an outstanding achievement.”

In contrast, Powerwrap moved from net inflows of $42 million in the June quarter to net outflows of $51 million in the September quarter.

“The Powerwrap scheme is specifically targeted to advisers with ultra-high-net-worth clients, flows volatility is a consequence of fulfilling needs in this market segment,” said Mr Wamsteker.

“The September quarter’s small $51 million net outflow reflects an outsize impact from a client transition in August.”

Net platform inflows over the quarter were said to have been partly offset by $123 million in negative market movement. Praemium said that this was broadly in line with the $159 million in negative market movement observed in the September quarter of last year.

Praemium achieved another record in total Australian funds under administration (FUA), which increased by 8 per cent versus a year earlier to $44.6 billion.

Platform FUA rose by 12 per cent to $22.3 billion, including a 17 per cent boost in Praemium’s SMA to $9.8 billion and an 8 per cent lift in Powerwrap to $12.5 billion.

FUA for Praemium’s VMAAS non-custodial portfolio administration and reporting service rose by 4 per cent to $22.3 billion.

Praemium also identified a number of highlights from the September quarter, including a recent agreement with Mercer Investments for portfolio administration services, which the firm noted is not reflected in the aforementioned figures.

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.