Ninety One suffers slump in assets as volatility hits
London-listed asset manager Ninety One said it had suffered an eight per cent slump in its assets in the first six months of the year as its holdings were rocked by rising interest rates and soaring inflation.
Bosses at the firm said it had weathered “challenging operating conditions” in the six months to the end of September as its assets slumped to £132.3bn, down from £140bn in the same period last year.
Flows at the firm reversed as investors pulled £3.2bn from its funds in a bid to shield their cash from turmoil on the markets.
The slump in assets comes amid a torrid period for the capital’s money managers who have been haemorrhaging flows and suffering sharp slides in asset valuations.
Ninety One boss Hendrik Du Toit warned the challenging environment for investors showed no signs of abating.
“The high levels of client engagement could not counter the impact of this environment on our results. We saw net outflows in the first half, caused by lower levels of new business volumes and portfolio derisking by clients,” he said in a statement.
“We are anticipating that these tough conditions will persist for the foreseeable future.”
He added that the firm remained “committed to our long-term strategy” and would focus its attention on managing the investments of our clients to the “standards they expect”.
Ninety One becomes the latest investor to report a bruising period this year as inflation hits.
Schroders said its assets had dropped by £21bn in a recent market update, while fund manager Jupiter also reported a £1.4bn fall to £47.4bn pounds in its AUM at the end of September. FTSE 250 investor Liontrust said more than £1.6bn had been pulled from its funds in the three months through September.