By Craig Phillips
PERPETUAL has managed to retain the lion’s share of $2 billion in international funds previously invested by Fidelity Investments ahead of the launch of its Dublin-based international equities business, Perpetual Global Equities (PGE).
PGE reported last week it had been given the green light to open its doors by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority.
Perpetual group executive Gerard Doherty told Money Management the firm had experienced slightly higher redemption requests ahead of PGE’s launch, but this was offset by rising markets.
“We did anticipate some outflows, but we didn’t anticipate significant redemptions when we made the announcement last year. Admittedly, outflow activity has been slightly more than we would normally expect, but you have to remember that the Fidelity funds had been underperforming for some time,” Doherty said.
Meanwhile, Perpetual chief investment officer Emilio Gonzalez said PGE was already receiving plenty of interest from both UK and Australian investors.
“We’ve had people from the UK and Australia knocking on our door, and if that’s indicative of the level of interest, then that’s encouraging for us,” Gonzalez said.
The group also reported a 31 per cent rise in operating profit after tax to $54.3 million, with a 17 per cent increase in total operating revenues to $174 million.
