Magellan sees return to positive FUM growth



Funds under management (FUM) at Magellan have returned to growth in May after a lull in April.
The fund manager said its FUM was $36.7 billion, up from $36.3 billion in April.
All the growth came from the institutional space which rose by 2 per cent from $19.2 billion to $19.6 billion, while retail FUM remained flat at $17.1 billion.
The company had seen five months of consistent positive flows from November 2023 to March 2024, but flows were flat at $36.3 billion in April.
Infrastructure equities rose from $15.4 billion to $15.8 billion, while its Airlie Australian equities division saw FUM rise slightly from $5.3 billion to $5.4 billion. These are a rise of 2.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.
Its flagship global equities division saw a small decline from $15.6 billion to $15.5 billion.
Despite the growth, the firm acknowledged it still saw outflows from both retail and institutional channels during the month.
“In May, Magellan experienced net outflows of $0.1 billion, which included net retail outflows of $0.2 billion and net institutional outflows of $0.1 billion,” it said in an ASX statement.
Last month saw Sophia Rahmani join the firm as its new managing director on 13 May.
Joining from her role as chief executive of Maple-Brown Abbott, she holds the position alongside Andrew Formica as executive chair and is expected to transition to the CEO role within 12 months, at which point Formica will move to a non-executive position.
The role will see her take responsibility for investment, distribution, information technology, human resources, risk and compliance functions. Formica said Rahmani will focus on the fund management business, while he will look after the “strategic development” of the wider Magellan business.
Rahmani’s appointment at Magellan followed the exit of David George after just over a year last October. George, who was the CEO and managing director, stepped down as the Magellan board believed it was time to refocus leadership.
Her role at Maple-Brown Abbott is now held by Melanie McQuire following an interim period as acting CEO. She joined Maple-Brown Abbott in September 2020 as the firm’s chief operating officer.
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