Magellan Financial Group has reported a consecutive monthly assets under management (AUM) increase for only the second time in the FY24–25 financial year.
In April, assets rose from $37.5 billion to $38.5 billion and this has been followed in May by a 2 per cent increase from $38.5 billion to $39.3 billion.
This is only the second time in the current financial year that AUM has risen for two consecutive months. The other occasion was between September and November 2024, but then they subsequently fell again in December.
Outflows also moderated from $1 billion last month to $0.4 billion in May, equally divided between retail and institutional channels.
Retail assets increased from $16.2 billion to $16.7 billion, while institutional assets increased from $22.3 billion to $22.6 billion.
Its global equities division saw the largest AUM increase with a 3.8 per cent rise from $13 billion to $13.5 billion. Australian equities exposure reported a smaller increase from $7.5 billion to $7.7 billion, while infrastructure equity AUM remained unchanged at $16.6 billion.
Its Vinva division, where it has now launched four funds, sat at $1.5 billion. Magellan first announced its strategic partnership with Vinva in August last year at its FY24 results, with Magellan acquiring a 29.5 per cent stake in parent company Vinva Holdings. Magellan said at the time that the two firms intended to collaborate on new product initiatives in Australia and globally.
Since then, it has launched four funds with the firm: Vinva Australian Equity, Australian Alpha Extension, Global Equity, and Global Alpha Extension.
On a podcast with Magellan head of distribution, Mark Burgess, Vinva managing director Morry Waked said the opportunity to work with Magellan will help the firm break into the retail space without the need for its own distribution network.
“We are not a distribution house. We believe we’ve got some great capabilities in our global equity products in particular and Australian equity products, and we felt the retail wholesale market should benefit from our capabilities.
“I don’t want to go out there and build a retail wholesale distribution network. So I wanted to look for the right partner that had an alignment in terms of understanding that we are an intellectual capital firm. Our number one objective is investor performance, our independence, and we weren’t going to compromise on that.”
