Shares in Magellan have risen 3.6% after founder Hamish Douglass issued a statement that he would not be selling any shares in light of his marriage separation.
Douglass issued a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) with his wife Alexandra, confirming the pair’s separation. However, they confirmed they had “no intention” to sell any shares that they held.
“There has been unfounded speculation in the media regarding our shareholding in Magellan Financial Group. We can confirm that we have no intention to sell any of our shares in Magellan Financial Group,” it stated.
Shares in the firm had fallen during the week after it was announced that chief executive, Brett Cairns, would be departing the firm “for personal reasons” and replaced by Kirsten Morton on an interim basis.
Since the start of the year, shares were down 43% and they were down almost 50% over one year to 8 December, 2021. This compared to performance by the ASX 200 of 11% over the 12 months and year to date.
The firm had been criticised for some of its investment choices which had led to underperformance of its flagship Magellan Global fund. According to FE Analytics, the Magellan Global fund had returned 12% over one year to 30 November compared to returns of 22% by the global equity sector within the Australian core strategies universe.
However, Douglass had said in the past that he was unconcerned by this short-term pain as he was making investment decision for the long term.
