AssetCo has reported a mixed set of half-year results, with revenue of £8.3m at the end of March - up from £1.3m last year - while losses before tax also rose from £2.6m to £13.8m.
Recent acquisitions added £11.7m worth of administrative expenses, although £3m of those in the latest period were one-off costs, with almost half relating to restructuring costs.
Underlying operational loss for the six months ended stood at £4.1m, before exceptionals and other one-off costs, reflecting the introduction of both River & Mercantile and SVM.
Despite wider industry outflows, AssetCo noted net inflows of £28m for Saracen Global Income and Growth Fund, alongside net inflows of £16m at Rize ETF.
The March acquisition of Ocean Dial Asset Management helped continue expansion of the group's listed equity platform and brought emerging markets equity capabilities in the fast-growing Indian economy.
Meanwhile, profit and cashflow improved at Parmenion, which also completed its first acquisition during the period.
AssetCo has made further cost reductions in its active equities business, with more than £1m identified, to deliver annualised cost reductions of over £16m in aggregate since the acquisition of River & Mercantile in January 2022.
Assets under management at the end of March were £13.8bn - up from £9.9bn a year ago - including £10.6bn for Parmenion.
Chair Martin Gilbert said the period was one of "unrelenting market pressure", with weak investor sentiment that was not helped by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and rescue of Credit Suisse.
"Fund flows across the industry were consistently negative for the period, with outflows from UK equity funds - currently AssetCo's largest exposure - actually increasing in the first quarter, from what were already record levels in 2022."
The group was not immune from these pressures and generally suffered outflows during the period, when inflows had been the expectation.
"The general rise in markets has cushioned the effect to some extent, but it is fair to say that we remain behind where we want to be in terms of asset growth."
Gilbert said that AssetCo intends to roll the Saracen business into SVM in the near future, with the ground being laid for the full-scale integration of all active equities businesses under the River and Mercantile brand.
The group also reached agreement to sell River and Mercantile's loss-making US business earlier this year. The deal completed at the end of May and should result in a modest revenue share benefit for a period going forward, while eliminating net losses which amounted to £400,000 in this reporting period.
"It has been encouraging to see net inflows into the Rize ETF business over the period, which bucks the general trend in conventional fund markets and points to the on-going potential for this product set," he explained. "That said, the business remains materially behind plan, its thematic focus having been set back by the advent of war in Ukraine and subsequent market jitters."
The group has therefore decided to write down the holding value in its balance sheet by circa £5m, to £12m. "We continue to see real potential in this business, but it is emerging later and slower than we had hoped," Gilbert added.
Elsewhere, the market for infrastructure funds has been "particularly challenging" against a backdrop of rising rates and a crisis for UK pension funds and insurers in the liability-driven investment market.
"This has proven particularly unhelpful for River and Mercantile's own infrastructure fund, as a UK only income vehicle and new commitments have not been forthcoming as hoped, although a pipeline of potential commitments is being actively developed," said Gilbert.
"Recognising this slower and later business development and taking a conservative position, we have elected to make a provision of £1.7m against assets held on the balance sheet for our infrastructure business which have been advanced in expectation of future profits."
Campbell Fleming, chief executive of AssetCo, commented: "The six months to end March 2023 has been one of the toughest on record for active equities businesses, with a backdrop of relentless outflows across the industry.
"Given that extremely challenging operating environment, I am gratified to report a modest uptick in both assets under management and, importantly, operating margin for our active equities businesses.
"The further cost savings we have identified, when taken together with work done to date and our continued strong investment performance showing as a group, make us well placed to benefit from improvement in investor sentiment."
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