Platinum Asset Management’s funds under management (FUM) was $13.03 billion at the end of July, up from $12.97 billion in June.
In an ASX listing on Wednesday, and ahead of its full-year results later in August, the firm said it experienced net outflows of $282 million during the month, with the majority of outflows – some $218 million – stemming from the Platinum Trust Funds.
The firm has steadily seen a decrease in monthly outflows after $1.65 billion came out of the business over March and April on the back of institutional mandates and product rationalisation initiatives.
Further, last month’s results marked its first FUM increase since February, and only the second time that it has seen an uptick since August 2023.
Also in July, Platinum announced that it would merge its two listed investment companies (LIC) with two of its quoted managed hedge funds off the back of a strategic review.
Namely, its Platinum Asia LIC will enter a scheme of arrangement to merge with the open-ended Platinum Asia Fund (Quoted Managed Hedge Fund), which is $85 million in size.
Meanwhile, the Platinum Capital LIC will enter a scheme of arrangement to merge with the open-ended $284 million Platinum International Fund (Quoted Managed Hedge Fund).
Recent months have also seen the closure of Platinum’s London office after a decision was made to close the UCITS funds run under the Platinum World Portfolios (PWP) umbrella, which comprised its International, Asia, Japan, and Health Sciences strategies.
“Upon the recommendation of Platinum as the fund promoter, the board of PWP plc has decided to close the funds and wind up the company,” the firm said in a note to investors.
“Platinum has also decided to close its London office which was set up primarily as a distribution office for the UCITS.”
Speaking to InvestorDaily at the time, Charles Brooks, Platinum’s institutional investment specialist, said: “This does not impact our ability to manage and service mandate opportunities in the region.”
Brooks confirmed that the closure is part of the fund manager’s intent to revitalise the company following declines in both revenue and funds under management.
Dubbed the “turnaround program”, Platinum announced in February that it would be undergoing an arduous process to cut costs and position the business for the future.
In an update in late March, the fund manager said it had completed an initial review and would be targeting at least $25 million in annualised run rate savings.
Platinum said these savings would only begin to be realised during the last quarter of the 2024 financial year and would not generate a material impact on the company’s reported FY2023–24 profit, with the bulk of savings being progressively realised during the 2025 financial year.
