Henderson begins year solidly ahead of Janus merger

Henderson Group published its first quarter trading statement for the three months to 31 March on Wednesday, with assets under management at period end increasing to £103.1bn, which the board said was driven by positive investment performance and foreign exchange gains.

The FTSE 250 firm reported a net outflow of £1.4bn from its retail division and £0.4bn from institutional.

It said its long-term investment performance remained strong, with 73% of funds outperforming over three years.

The board declared a first quarter 2017 extraordinary dividend of 1.85p per share.

“While retail client outflows continued, we saw an improvement in client sentiment and flows as we moved towards the end of the quarter,” said chief executive Andrew Formica.

“Aside from the one-off outflows that resulted from the merger-related restructuring of our Global Equities team, our Institutional business continues to see steady growth, with a healthy number of mandates funding since quarter end.”

Formica said the company had made “substantial progress” in preparation for its proposed merger with Janus Capital Group.

“It is an exciting time as momentum builds towards the launch of Janus Henderson Investors, which will enable us to significantly increase our distribution reach and investment capabilities.

“We continue to be pleased with the supportive response from clients and await shareholder approval on 26 April.”