Miton Group dips as inflows under pressure

Miton Group dropped on Friday after the fund manager saw a sharp slowdown in new money coming in in the fourth quarter, following a “weak market performance”.

In the final three months of the year Miton’s funds under management increased by 14% to £4.4bn but a £1bn inflow of new money was countered by a decline in portfolio fund value of £466m.

While each of the prior three quarters saw net inflows reach more than £300m, the fourth quarter’s reached just £92m.

The AIM traded company's cash balances at 31 December stood at £25.5m, up from £19.9m at the same point last year, while overall performance in 2018 is expected the fall in line with expectations.

David Barron, chief executive of Miton, said: "Miton has positive business momentum and is well placed as we enter 2019, despite uncertainties in global stock markets. Our funds are highly relevant for the changing UK market and we are a resilient business that is increasingly diversified with proven distribution capabilities," said Barron.

Peel Hunt said that the low inflows of £92m were still a “strong result” given outflows seen elsewhere but stated that it would expect to reduce forecasts for the current year by 15-20% due to lower assets under management and negative operational gearing.

Miton’s shares were sown 4.78% at 49.99p at 1028 GMT.