Ashmore: Mixed results as emerging market withdrawals remain sky-high
Emerging markets investment manager Ashmore reported a 12 per cent drop in adjusted profit before tax for the year to 30 June 2024.
The group reported an adjusted profit before tax of £105.4m, below expectations of £113m and 2023’s figure of £119.4m.
Ashmore has experienced years of withdrawals from investors, and the trend has shown no sign of letting up.
The fund manager recorded $8.5bn (£6.6bn) in outflows over the last year. The asset manager has struggled to make the case for emerging markets as Chinese growth remains weak and the Russian invasion of Ukraine killed sentiment in Eastern European markets.
“Investment performance was also modestly negative and assets under management for the year fell by 11 per cent,” said Peel Hunt analyst Stuart Duncan.
The group now controls only $49.3bn (£37.5bn) in assets under management.
However, the group’s annual results had some bright spots.
Analysts had expected assets under management to fall further to just $45.6bn (£34.7bn).
The group’s performance fees also rose to £22.7m, significantly higher than the prior year (£5.1m).
The group made £21.7m in seed capital investments.
“We believe that there is still scope for optimism that a recovery in sentiment towards Emerging Markets could benefit Ashmore,” added Duncan.
“This is supported by a multi-year bull run in the US dollar, which, if it reverses, should lead to increasing allocations to areas like emerging markets, and improved investment performance, as is typical of Ashmore’s investment process.”
Ashmore’s CEO, Mark Coombs, said that the group “delivered strong profit growth this year notwithstanding the impact of lower asset under management levels”.
“Ashmore is delivering investment outperformance for clients and has a highly-scalable operating platform, which means it is well-positioned to benefit from capital flows to emerging markets as investor risk appetite increases.”