■ Assets under management down 3.3 per cent
■ Net fourth-quarter net outflow of $600m
■ Equity assets down 20.5 per cent
Shares in Ashmore fell sharply after the emerging markets asset manager revealed a fall in fourth-quarter assets under management, prompting brokers to downgrade their earnings forecasts for the full year. Analyst Stuart Duncan at Peel Hunt cut his June 2012 earnings estimate by 7 per cent to 23.2p and by 15 per cent for June 2013 to 23.8p (26.6p in 2011). But while Peel Hunt retains the shares on its long-term buy list, the broker conceded that in the short-term the difficult environment for risk assets could lead to Ashmore's share price falling further.
The asset manager is paying the price of a foray into equities through its purchase of a majority stake in US-based equities investment manager Emerging Markets Management last year. The value of its equity portfolio slid $1.6bn to $6.2bn in the fourth quarter. Ironically, the group's core external debt business attracted net inflows, which helped to boost assets there by 5.3 per cent to $15.9bn.
