Australian Ethical sees investment inflows return in Q1
Australian Ethical funds under management were $14.3 billion at the end of September, with its investment division seeing inflows return after outflows in the previous quarter.
In a quarterly update to the ASX, the fund manager said FUM rose from $13.9 billion at the end of June to $14.3 billion as of 30 September.
This was divided between $4.5 billion in investments and $9.9 billion in superannuation, up from $4.4 billion and $9.5 billion at the end of June.
Retail and wholesale flows were $0.13 billion, which is down from $0.20 million in the previous quarter, but it reported $0.01 million inflows in the investment space, which is a positive after experiencing the same volume in investment outflows in the previous quarter.
Institutional flows into investments were $0.04 billion, down from $0.06 million during the June quarter.
Strong investment performance across the portfolio resulted in $0.28 billion in FUM growth, although client capital management activities led to a negative movement of $0.11 billion, which was associated with low margin funds.
Managing director John McMurdo said: “It’s pleasing to build on the strong results of the previous financial year with another quarter of growth. While the first quarter of the financial year tends to be lower for flows, we continue to acquire new superannuation members and have seen an uptick in rollovers in this quarter.
“Combined with continued positive investment performance across our portfolios, we are delighted to have reached and exceeded $14 billion in FUM.”
In this new second quarter, head of equities Nathan Parkin will take over from portfolio manager Andy Gracey, who has stepped down as manager of the Emerging Companies Fund. Gracey had joined Australian Ethical in 2004, but will remain as an adviser until mid-December 2025.
Parkin commenced at Australian Ethical in June 2025 and brought over three decades of experience working in Australia’s financial markets, including 12 years at Perpetual. He also co-founded Ethical Partners Funds Management in 2018, a boutique fund manager that closed last year after six years of operation, giving him hands-on experience with the ethical investment space.
Speaking earlier this year at the firm’s full-year results, McMurdo said the completion of new superannuation and investment management operating platforms would unlock further growth across both business lines, as they strengthen their member and investor experience and enhance market position.
“We are confident that we can continue to grow both organically and periodically inorganically and also deliver further operating leverage improvements over time,” he said.
“While we expect the market and economic volatility experienced in FY25 to continue, we are very well-positioned with our high-quality capability, long-term investment performance, strong balance sheet, enhanced business platform, brand trust, channel breadth, and our deep ethical pedigree.”
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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