Polar Capital posts solid performance for latest financial year

Polar Capital updated the market on its assets under management following the end of its financial year on Thursday, reporting total assets under management of £20.9bn at year-end.

The AIM-traded firm said that was a 71% increase over the £12.2bn it reported 12 months prior, at the end of March 2020.

During the period, assets under management increased by £8.7bn, which comprised net subscriptions of £2.1bn and inflows from reported acquisitions of £1.7bn.

That was offset by outflows from a previously-reported fund closure of £0.3bn, with an increase of £5.2bn put down to market movement and fund performance.

Assets under management increased 10% over the fourth quarter, the company noted.

“We are pleased to report a good finish to the financial year in terms of flow momentum with net inflows into 14 of our funds amounting to £643m in the quarter ended 31 March,” said chief executive officer Gavin Rochussen.

“The fact we have also increased our assets under management to over £20bn, doubling the size of our business over three and a half years, is testament to our strategic focus of offering a diversified range of funds whilst maintaining a rigorous focus on performance and active management.

“It is also pleasing that the pipeline for flows into our Emerging Markets Stars range of funds, which have sustainability at the core of their processes, continues to remain strong as the funds approach their three-year track records at Polar Capital.”

Rochussen said fund performance across the company’s range in the current calendar year was “resilient”, with 57% of its funds outperforming benchmarks for the calendar year-to-date.

He added that on a three-year annualised basis, 78% of assets under management had performed ahead of benchmark at the end of March, with 70% of assets under management in the company’s UCITS fund range ranked in the first quartile against peers in the Lipper universe over three years.

“The integration of the Dalton business onto the Polar Capital platform continues according to schedule and is anticipated to be completed by our financial half-year end.

“We remain confident that with our diverse range of funds and focus on performance in our actively managed complementary funds we are positioned to continue to perform well for our clients and will continue to generate net inflows.

“The net inflow momentum of the last quarter has continued into the first two weeks of April.”

Polar Capital said it would announce its results for the year ended 31 March on 1 July.

At 0938 BST, shares in Polar Capital Holdings were up 2.49% at 741p.