US asset managers suffer record monthly withdrawals in March - reports

Brokers cut profit forecasts

Brokers including Jefferies, UBS, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have slashed their 2020 profit outlooks for US asset managers by as much as 37%, following record outflows in March with more than $300bn being pulled from funds over the course of the month.

According to data provider EPFR Global, equity funds suffered their eighth-worst month on record in March with outflows of $47.5bn, while fixed income funds reached all-time record monthly outflows of $277bn. Last week, US asset management giant Franklin Templeton - which recently secured a $1.1trn tie-up with Legg Mason - disclosed that its assets under management shrunk by 11.6% over the course of March, according to The FT. Analysis from Jefferies indicated this amounted to $14bn's worth of outflows for the company over the course of the month. Global ETP flows remain positive desp...