Asset managers generally fared strongly in the first half of this year in terms of growth in assets under management, thanks in part to a strong rally across equity markets.
The combined AUM of the nine U.S.-listed asset managers tracked by Seeking Alpha stood at $5.85T at June 30, 2023, up $400B, or 6.83%, from the $5.45T mark at Dec. 31, 2022. The gain was accompanied by the S&P 500 (SP500) jumping 16.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (COMP.IND) surging 32.7%, as seen in this chart.
Just one firm – Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) – saw AUM growth stagnate for the six-month period. Victory Capital Holdings (NASDAQ:VCTR), Alliance Bernstein (NYSE:AB) and Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) managed to deliver solid growth, although trailing the overall average YTD gain of 7.69%, according to the chart below. Note that the average AUM gain would have been even higher at 8.65% if it weren’t for CNS.
An increase in AUM, or the market value of all the financial assets (i.e., equities, fixed income, cash, alternatives) a firm controls on behalf of clients, generally indicates that business is doing well. In addition, rising AUM helps profits because the various fees that managers charge also rise with AUM. AUM typically sees an increase due to both market gains and fund inflows, a dynamic that investors want to see.
For June, AUM came in strong from a month ago, with the average asset manager posting 3.70% growth, the table below shows, coinciding with the S&P’s 5.4% climb.
Invesco (NYSE:IVZ), which has the biggest AUM of the group, saw its AUM rise 3.4% in June to $1.54T, driven by favorable market returns, net long-term inflows, money market net inflows, money into non-management fee earning AUM and positive FX and long-term organic growth.
Evercore ISI analyst Glenn Schorr pointed out that IVZ’s June flows fared better than the prior two months, coming in at +2.7%.
“In terms of how things compared to monthly expectations, they were a little light versus the expected +$4B and +$6.5B for us/Street,” the sell-side analyst wrote in a recent note, adding that exchange-traded funds likely “had a good month” he expects from contributions from funds like S&P 500 Equal-Weight (RSP), Nasdaq 100 (QQQM), and High Yield Bulletshares 2025 (BSJP).
Seeking Alpha’s stock screener gave Heritage Global (HGBL) the highest Quant ranking among asset managers, followed by PennantPark Investment (PNNT), Blue Owl Capital (OBDC) and Monroe Capital (MRCC).
| Name | June AUM | January AUM | % Change YTD |
| $ in billions | |||
| Invesco (IVZ) | $1,540 | $1,410 | 9.22% |
| Franklin Resources (BEN) | $1,430 | $1,390 | 2.88% |
| T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) | $1,399 | $1,280 | 9.30% |
| Alliance Bernstein (AB) | $691 | $646 | 6.97% |
| Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) | $239.30 | $216.10 | 10.74% |
| Virtus Investment (NASDAQ:VRTS) | $168.30 | $149.38 | 12.67% |
| Victory Capital (VCTR) | $161.60 | $152.95 | 5.66% |
| Artisan Partners (NYSE:APAM) | $143 | $127.90 | 11.81% |
| Cohen & Steers (CNS) | $80.4 | $80.40 | 0.00% |
| Average YTD gain: | 7.69% | Total June AUM: | $5,853 |
| Average June gain: | 3.70% | Total January AUM: | $5,453 |
| % Gain: | 6.83% | ||
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