With positive flows despite volatile markets and a successful merger with Christian Super, super funds under management at Australian Ethical now stand at some $7 billion.
Overall FUM stood at $9 billion, increasing by 3 per cent since 30 March 2023 and 45 per cent since June 2022.
In the two months since March, the ethical investment manager saw positive net flows of $90 million despite current market conditions.
Positive investment performance in the period contributed some $170 million of net growth.
Superannuation flows remained particularly resilient, Australian Ethical noted.
“The business is now better positioned than ever for further headline and earnings growth following the successful integration of the Christian Super successor funds transfer (SFT) and following positive investments’ returns, and organic net cashflows,” said managing director John Murdo.
Following the SFT in November 2022, Australian Ethical confirmed the initial integration program had been delivered, combining management and consolidating into a single investment management platform.
With the merger, it gained over 28,000 members to its superannuation fund.
“The higher level of funds under management now presents Australian Ethical the opportunity to both continue to invest in the business to capture the significant addressable market for responsible investing, and simultaneously see operating leverage emerge in the future earnings profile of the business,” it said.
Looking ahead, the fund expected strong headline growth in FY23, predicting revenue to be over 20 per cent higher than the first half, driven by higher average FUM.
Underlying profit after tax (UPAT) was expected to sit in a range of $6.3 million to $6.8 million, taking full year UPAT before performance fees for the year ending 30 June 2023 to a range between $11.3 million to $11.8 million.
