Peel Hunt: 'Difficult to be bullish' as asset managers' earnings set to fall

Confidence at 'lowest for some time'

In its latest Sector Outlook, investment bank Peel Hunt noted “significant” downgrades in earnings for asset managers.

For CY25E, earnings were downgraded by an average of 19%. In addition, period-end AUM levels reflected lower markets at that point, combined with continuing outflows. Cobalt Holdings set for $230m fundraise through London Stock Exchange float Net outflows in Q1 2025 equalled 6.6% of opening AUM, noticeably higher than the 3.4% average over the last two years, but "if markets do continue to recover, the risk should shift to the upside". Peel Hunt's report stated: "It is difficult to be overly bullish on a sector where earnings growth remains elusive, but valuations seem to a...