Schroders forecasts choppy markets as AUM grows
Fund manager sees inflows in spite of uncertain market outlook but profit falls compared to H1 2011.
Schroders has recorded a 3.9 per cent increase in assets under management and a profit before tax of £177.4m in the first six months of the year.
The fund management group’s pre-tax profit marked a 17.8 per cent fall compared with the first six months of 2011, when the group brought in £215.7m.
The company said retail investor demand had been hit by a “very uncertain” outlook both for economies and markets, especially in Europe but also in Asia.
“Investor demand across our business will be affected by the high level of macro economic and market uncertainty which we expect to persist for the remainder of the year,” the company said.
“In this challenging environment our broad product range and global client base is resulting in a resilient performance.”
In spite of investor uncertainty, Schroders saw £1bn of net inflows to its intermediary business in the first half of 2012, and reported that two thirds of its funds outperformed their benchmarks. Net inflows for the whole business were £2.7bn.