F&C sees AUM dip to £97.8bn

F&C Asset Management suffered a dip in funds under management to £97.8bn for the year ended 31 December 2009, compared to the previous year's £98.6bn.

F&C also returned to profit, generating a pre-tax gain of £8.7m, compared with a loss of £67.3m in 2008. Third-party mutual fund sales fell to £710m, down 31% from peak levels in 2008. However, the group says it generated £2.5bn of new institutional business, with outflows at their lowest level since 2004 at £4.8bn, a decrease on the previous year's £7.6bn. Chief executive Alain Grisay says the strength of the sterling and the defensive stance of some of its portfolios impacted on assets under management. "With a diversified asset base, F&C's assets under management are less expose...