Withdrawal of Friends Life a knock to F&C
F&C ASSET Management suffered £3.7bn in net outflows in the third quarter, as a large planned client withdrawal offset a positive investment performance, the company said yesterday.
Assets under management had fallen to £96.8bn at the end of September from £98.2bn at the beginning of July, due in part to a previously announced £2.9bn of withdrawals of fixed income assets by Friends Life, according to the company’s trading statement.
Its consumer and institutional assets under management increased by £500m to £36.74bn, including £400m of net inflows from institutions and a 2.2 per cent investment gain. Friends Life is set to withdraw a further £2.4bn in the final quarter of 2012, F&C said.
The impact of foreign exchange movements also contributed to £968m of the net outflow figure, the company said. The update comes a year after executive chairman Edward Bramson, who won control in a controversial management coup 18 months ago, announced a shake-up which set out to cut costs, reduce staff and focus on institutions.