(Bloomberg) -- Jupiter Fund Management Plc’s clients pulled a net £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) in the third quarter, extending outflows for the year to £5 billion as the firm grapples with the departure of one of its star managers.
The asset manager said the outflows were driven by changes to the Value equity team, while underlying flows were “marginally positive” in the three months through September, according to a statement Friday. The firm’s total assets under management declined 2.3% to £50.1 billion from end-June.
Jupiter has been battling the general woes plaguing the asset management industry and faced a long run of client redemptions over the past few years. Last month, Fitch downgraded Jupiter’s debt rating to one notch above junk, saying the company had been less resilient than other active fund managers in dealing with the sector’s broader challenges, including fee pressure from passive rivals.
Now, the imminent exit of manager Ben Whitmore, who runs several of the firm’s value strategies and about a fifth of its assets, has put it under bigger pressure. He is leaving later in the year to set up his own firm. At the end of last year, two money managers that oversaw the £800 million Chrysalis investment trust left, taking the fund with them.
Chief Executive Officer Matthew Beesley, who took over the helm at Jupiter two years ago, has been seeking to diversify the firm’s offerings and reverse the withdrawals. Jupiter earlier this month said it will acquire a team and assets from boutique firm Origin, as part of a broader push into emerging markets.
The deal, which was set to bring in more than £800 million in assets under management, was announced alongside the departure of Jupiter’s emerging market equities lead investment manager Nick Payne.
The fund manager will leave at the end of the year to “pursue other opportunities,” Jupiter had said in a statement.
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