Premier Miton confident amid turbulent markets

Premier Miton reported £10.6bn in closing fourth-quarter assets under management as at 30 September on Friday, down from £13.9bn year-on-year.

The AIM-traded firm said it saw £0.3bn of net outflows in the quarter, and £1.1bn of net outflows for the full 12 months.

It described “further positive net flows” in fixed income funds and diversified multi-asset funds, as well as a “strong” relative investment performance, with 88% of funds in the first or second quartile of their respective sectors since manager inception.

A new global head of distribution joined in the period, to “lead and develop” the group's distribution and marketing strategy, while a new fund manager hire for the Premier Miton UK Value Opportunities Fund was also announced in the period.

Premier Miton said it had made “significant” investment in fund management talent over the last three years, to help create a “modern, active asset management business” positioned for future growth.

“The recent fiscal event in the UK combined with the ongoing geopolitical environment have created a challenging and uncertain period for markets both in the UK and globally,” said chief executive officer Mike O'Shea.

“Investors understandably have remained cautious about committing new investments during this period and we have also seen outflows across the industry from open-ended funds.

“It is clear that the current market conditions are particularly challenging for the asset management sector and this was reflected in the group's assets under management ending the quarter at £10.6bn.”

O'Shea said the firm saw some outflows from its UK and European equity open-ended funds due to weak client demand across the industry.

“These outflows were partially offset by inflows into our fixed income, US equity and diversified multi-asset funds.

“For the 12 months to 30 September, gross redemptions from open-ended funds run by the group were down 4% year-on-year, however, gross inflows into these products were down 35% over the same period.

“We believe that when confidence returns more investors will seek truly actively managed strategies as they look to deliver added value for their clients.”

Premier Miton was “ideally placed” to take advantage of that trend, given its record of delivering strong investment performance, Mike O'Shea said.

“Across our fund range, our investment performance remains strong, with 88% of our funds in the first or second quartile of their respective sectors since manager inception.

“Shorter-term numbers also remain encouraging with 86%1 of funds above median over three years.

“It was also very pleasing to see that Premier Miton had the highest number of funds in the UK market achieving FE fundinfo's top-five Crown Rating.”

The CEO said that as part of its long-term growth strategy, Premier Miton was continuing to invest in its business, announcing the appointment of Jonathan Willcocks as global head of distribution.

“Jonathan will play a key role in developing and leading our distribution and marketing strategy as we expand our investment strategies, diversify our client base and seek to grow assets under management with both wholesale and institutional investors.

“During the Period, we also announced that Matthew Tillett will join the group in October from Allianz Global Investors.”

Tillett would take over as manager of the Premier Miton UK Value Opportunities Fund from Andy Jackson, who was retiring at the end of the year.

“Against a backdrop of rising inflation and interest rates which are impacting both our clients and our colleagues, I am confident that with our operational and financial strength we are in a good position to navigate these volatile times.”

At 1210 BST, shares in Premier Miton Group were down 7.14% at 91p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.