MARKET REPORT: Star stock picker leaves Jupiter Fund Management in dark mood
The departure of a stock-picking star was evident in Jupiter Fund Management’s results, which showed outflows accelerating in the first six months of the year.
The FTSE 250-listed investment group reported total net outflows of £3.4bn in the six months to the end of June, up from £2.2bn at the end of last year.
Of that, £2.4bn came from value funds managed by the outgoing Ben Whitmore, who set up his own boutique firm Brickwood Asset Management and is widely regarded as one of the best fund managers in the Square Mile.
Jupiter’s total assets under management were below analysts’ expectations at £51.3 billion, down from £51.4 billion a year earlier.
However, half-year pre-tax profit rose 11 percent to £38.7 million, helped Jupiter shares jumped 6.8 percent, or 5.6p, to 88.1p.
Suffering: Jupiter’s total assets under management were below analysts’ expectations of £51.3bn, down from £51.4bn a year earlier
Also in investment, hedge fund manager Man Group rose 3.5 percent, or 8.8p, to 259.6p after assets under management rose to a record £138.5 billion in the six months to the end of June, beating expectations.
After a week of turbulence, the FTSE 100 rose 1.2 percent, or 99.36 points, to 8,285.71.
The FTSE 250 also rose 2.3 percent, or 471.95 points, to 21,356.30.
Commodity problems gave blue chips a boost again. Anglo-American rose 5.1 percent, or 115p, to 2,380p after analysts at UBS raised their rating on the miner to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’.
But Lloyds Banking Group warehouse 0.03 percent, or 0.02p, to 60.66p as analysts at RBC Capital downgraded their ratings after the stock hit its unchanged price target of 60p.
Property developer Segro underperformed, losing 1.7 percent, or 15.2p, to 892p. The property company reported a fall in its net asset value, but made a profit in the past six months and increased its interim dividend.
Property portal Rightmove fell 1.4 per cent, or 8p, to 560p as concerns about the challenges of tight mortgage conditions detracted from solid half-year results. Profits rose 1.8 per cent to £132.6m.
Engineer IMI added 3.2 percent, or 58p, to 1,860p after reporting improved half-year profits and announcing a £100m share buyback programme. And tech-focused venture capital firm Molten Ventures gained 6 percent, or 21p, to 370p after announcing a new £10m share buyback programme and agreeing a new £180m debt facility.
However, Computacenter fell 0.2 percent, or 6p, to 2,660p as the computer technology and services provider expects first-half profits to fall about 29 percent from a year earlier.
Among small caps, Rome Resources began trading on AIM after the Canadian-listed tin miner acquired Pathfinder Minerals. Shares rose 10.9 per cent, or 0.03p, to 0.31p.
And Record rose 0.6 percent, or 0.4p, to 66.9p after the currency and asset manager made a solid start to the year.
But Webis fell 35.7 percent, or 0.5p, to 0.9p as the gaming company said expected improvement in the business-to-customer segment had not materialised.
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