Investors in Jupiter take profits despite reports of 'good' Q4

Jupiter Fund Management reported 'another good quarter', but it wasn't enough to stop broker Peel Hunt downgrading the stock from 'buy' to 'hold'.

The group appeared to have a strong fourth quarter in both mutual fund flows and segregated mandates wins, and reported an increase in assets under management to £26.3bn.

Net mutual inflows in the three month period totalled £490m, helped by a strong investment performance, while cumulative net mutual inflows were £1.6bn.

Edward Bonham Carter, Chief Executive, commented: "Jupiter achieved another good quarter, driven by continued positive momentum from our mutual fund franchise. This supported overall net inflows of over £680m and led to AUM increasing to £26.3bn at the year end."

The group added: "Although industry conditions remain challenging, investor sentiment appears to have improved towards the end of the year [...] Inflows continued into funds positioned towards the cautious end of the risk spectrum, such as Merlin Income and Strategic Bond, and we also experienced inflows into top-performing equity funds, such as UK Special Situations and the European Growth SICAV. These flows, together with improved market levels, led to mutual funds AUM increasing to £20.6bn at December 31st.

"While we have seen strong mutual funds flows in the second half of 2012, we remain cautious on the short-term outlook due to continued market uncertainties. The long-term growth prospects for the savings market remain promising and we will continue to focus on delivering outperformance for our clients and investing in our distribution capabilities."

Peel Hunt boosted its target price on the stock from 300p to 350p.

The share price fell 2.92% to 315.50p by 10:00.

NR