Value Partners’s AUM fell 21% to $11.8bn in June from $15bn at the end of December last year, according to the firm’s interim financial results.
The decline was mainly due to the firm’s net redemptions of $2.17bn in the first half.
“The AUM outflow during the first half was mostly from our fixed income products when the COVID-19 epidemic spread beyond Asian borders and arrived in the US and Europe, and the oil prices slumped following a weakened demand,” the firm said.
“We noted from our distribution channels that investors have turned very cautious in allocating their assets, with some deciding to hold cash over the near term,” it added.
In addition, negative fund performance also dragged its AUM by $708m.
For example, the Value Partners Greater China High Yield Income Fund, the firm’s largest public fund in Hong Kong, fell 6.8% during the first half of this year, the firm said in its report. Its equity products also posted negative returns during the first half. For example, the Value Partners High-Dividend Stocks Fund declined 11.9% while the Value Partners Classic Fund, their flagship product, increased 0.2% in the first half of this year.
Because of the outflows and weaker fund sales, the firm’s net profit during the first half was HK$125.5m ($16.2m), which is 50% lower compared with the HK$250.9m reported by the firm during the same period in 2019.
