Australian Ethical bounces back with post-tax profit growth
Responsible investment fund manager, Australian Ethical, is bouncing back strongly from a subdued performance in the 2015 financial year, posting a 172 per cent increase in post-tax profits.
The fund manager posted a net profit after tax of $1.5 million for the six months to 31 December 2015, up from $550,000 in the prior corresponding period.
Australian Ethical managing director, Phil Vernon, said the growth in profit reflected a doubling of inflows, and an 11 per cent jump in membership in the first half of the financial year.
"We have had an exceptional half year result. Our net inflows have doubled, our investment performance remains strong and we maintain a disciplined approach to cost management," he said.
"Our strong new business growth is driven by increasing interest in ethical investing, as Australians look for ways build their wealth in a positive way. Our solid investment track record, over multiple time periods, proves that people can make their money do good for both themselves and the planet.
"Australian Ethical is a success story for shareholders, investors and the ‘Purpose Economy'.
In its announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) the company reported revenue increased 11 per cent to $10.9 million for the period, up from $9.9 million, while net inflows doubled over the previous corresponding period, increasing to $155 million from $77 million.
Funds under management (FUM) for the half year increased 35 per cent to $1.4 billion, from $1 billion reported for the same period the year before.
"The increase was driven by a combination of new inflows and asset management performance," the announcement said.
"A fee reduction of 0.3 per cent, reducing superannuation asset based administration fees to 0.63 per cent, occurred on 31 July 2015.
"The impact of the superannuation fee reductions was offset by increases in net flows and growth of funds under management throughout the half year period."
Recommended for you
In the latest Meet the Manager profile, Money Management speaks with Michael Skinner, founder and managing director at Blackwattle Investment Partners.
Perpetual has seen AUM rise 6 per cent in the last quarter but the departure of a longstanding JOHCM fund manager led to outflows of $2.2 billion from his strategy.
Global fixed income fund Bentham Global Opportunities has been added to several major platforms, enabling it to be accessed more easily by financial advisers.
Following yesterday’s news about First Sentier Investors closing four investment teams, a second global asset manager has announced it is closing its only dedicated Australian fund.
