Investment group Ashmore reveals an $8bn decline in assets

Asset management firm Ashmore has revealed its assets under management fell by $8billion in the September quarter as investors took flight.

The London-listed firm said the fall was due in part to net outflows of $5billion for the three months ended 30 September, as well as $3billion of investment losses.

Net outflows were predominantly a result of institutional investors reducing exposure in the external debt, local currency and blended debt themes, while local currency flows as well as corporate debt and equity themes also all suffered outflows.

Asset management firm Ashmore has revealed its assets under management fell by $8 billion in the September quarter as investors responded to geopolitical risks, rising recession fears and interest rates

Ashmore shares dipped more than 2 per cent trading at 186.00p Friday morning.

Mark Coombs, Ashmore CEO, commented: ‘Global fixed income and equity markets fell over the quarter reflecting continued uncertainty around geopolitical risks, higher inflation and increasingly hawkish central banks. 

‘This has increased the risk of recession in many countries and pushed bond yields higher and equity valuations lower in both Developed and Emerging Markets. Investor risk appetite therefore remains limited in the near term and Ashmore’s AuM movement this quarter reflects the impact of lower market levels and investors continuing to reduce risk.

He added: ‘Valuations across equity and fixed income Emerging Markets are exceptionally attractive and yet investors have lighter positions following a period of lower risk appetite.

‘ This provides a firm foundation for performance and higher allocations to capture the longer term growth and investment opportunities available in Emerging Markets as macro economic conditions begin to improve. 

‘Ashmore’s active management means it can take advantage of attractive market levels to embed value in portfolios and consequently it is well positioned to deliver outperformance in the years ahead across its range of equity and fixed income strategies.’

Emerging market assets have been at the sharp end of recent market turmoil, suffering from the prospect of slowing growth, higher developed market interest rates and general jitters over financial stability prompting flights to safety.

Emerging market stocks have fallen nearly 30 per cent since the start of the year and are on track for their worst annual performance since the 2008 financial crisis.

Hard-currency bonds from emerging market governments are down 23 per cent year-to-date while local debt is 20 per cent lower.

JPMorgan has calculated that investors have yanked $70 billion from emerging market bond funds since the start of 2022, predicting this will rise to around $80 billion by year-end.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk