Ashmore Group PLC on Thursday reported a rise in assets under management and the company expects to see a ‘pick up in investor interest’ in emerging markets in the remainder of the year and into the next.

The London-based emerging markets focused asset manager said its assets under management at its June 30 year-end declined 12% on-year to $49.3 billion from $55.9 billion.

It reported net outflows of $8.5 billion, but a positive market performance to the tune of $2.1 billion. Outflows were lower than the $11.5 billion suffered in financial 2023, Ashmore noted.

‘A lower level of redemptions means that the group’s net flows improved compared with the prior year, albeit they remain negative in line with the industry. Encouragingly, there is increasing evidence of sales momentum building with client interest in a range of investment strategies, although as noted above the conversion to actual flows is likely to require continued improvement in the global macro environment,’ Ashmore said.

Ashmore’s pretax profit rose 7.3% to £128.1 million from £119.4 million. Net revenue, however, declined 3.1% to £189.3 million from £195.4 million.

Ashmore declared a 12.1 pence per share final dividend, unmoved from a year prior. At 16.9p per share, its total payout was also unchanged from the prior year.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Combs said: ‘The emerging markets continue to perform well; for capital flows to respond more powerfully to this positive backdrop requires near-term uncertainties to be resolved in some investors’ minds. Some of these factors, such as the phasing of the next Fed rate cycle and the outcome of the US election, will become clear over the coming months. Therefore, as pent-up demand is unlocked, the pick up in investor interest in the emerging markets should gather momentum through the second half of 2024 and into 2025. Ashmore is delivering investment outperformance for clients and has a highly-scalable operating platform, which means it is well-positioned to benefit from capital flows to emerging markets as investor risk appetite increases.’

Ashmore shares rose 3.8% to 179.40 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

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