UK's Jupiter rebounds with net inflows in second quarter as client sentiment shifts

By Yamini Kalia

(Reuters) -British wealth manager Jupiter returned to net inflows in the second quarter, driven by a shift in client sentiment towards relatively cheaper European markets

CEO Matthew Beesley said the changing sentiment signals the reversal of a U.S.-dominated investment environment in favour of European bourses.

"The UK might find itself quite uniquely positioned as a bit of a safe haven market," he told Reuters.

Jupiter recorded net inflows of about 300 million pounds ($403.7 million) in the second quarter, compared to the 500 million pounds of outflows recorded in the first quarter.

"There's been a general improvement in sentiment across the marketplace since February," Beesley said, adding that the company had benefited from resilient institutional demand and improving sentiment within retail clients.

Jupiter shares opened at their highest since March 2023 following the half-yearly report, before reversing course to fall more than 7% on Friday. Panmure Liberum analyst Rae Maile said the share move could suggest profit taking by investors.

Underlying pre-tax profit fell 36% to 30.4 million pounds in the first half of the year, while assets under management came to 47.1 billion pounds for the period.

Jupiter had a challenging 2024, as nervous clients pulled cash and reshuffled their portfolios amid volatile markets, while the departure of one of its star fund managers, Ben Whitmore, triggered an exodus from the fund.

The company has since identified areas for cost savings and announced the acquisition of smaller rival CCLA Investment Manager earlier this month in a bid to rebuild investor confidence.

($1 = 0.7430 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Helen Popper)