Specialist currency manager Record saw a decline in assets under management, fee income and profits for the financial year ending 31 March 2011, a period the firm describes as “challenging and somewhat disappointing”.
It says quantitative easing hampered returns in some of its core strategies and admits struggling to find new clients for its dynamic hedging product.
Pre-tax profits at the UK-based firm sank a quarter to £12.5m (€14m) while assets under management, in sterling terms, were down 13% to just below £20bn (€23bn).
However, Record is optimistic that it will fare better this year by broadening its product range. The firm launched its first fund to invest in emerging market currencies during the last financial year, in partnership with the FTSE Group, and hopes investors’ continued faith in emerging market growth will attract inflows.
“The emerging market currency strategies exploit a distinct characteristic of these markets,” said Record. “Namely that as their economies converge in GDP per capita terms with developed markets, and do so through international trade and globalisation, their currencies are expected to appreciate against developed market currencies.”
©2011 funds europe
