F&C considers acquisitions
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F&C chief executive Alain Grisay says the firm will consider bolt-on acquisitions in a bid to boost its product offering.
Grisay says the firm, which gained independence after the demerger with Friends Provident in July 2009, has a primary focus on organic growth but will not rule out potential acquisitions that would generate shareholder value.
His comments come after F&C increased its assets under management by 12 per cent in the third quarter to £99.2bn.
F&C’s assets in the UK retail funds increased from £2.1bn to £2.5bn between June 30 and September 30, 2009, while assets in the investment trust space increased from £4.5bn to £5bn in the same period.
F&C has the majority of its assets in insurance funds, which also increased by 11 per cent from £53bn to £58.7bn.
Assets in the fixed income space increased by 13 per cent from £53bn to £59.7bn in Q3, while equities increased by 20 per cent from £20.5bn to £24.5bn. Property assets also increased nominally from £7.9bn to £8bn.
The group experienced net outflows of £382m over the period, this compares to £2.57bn of net outflows in the same period last year.
Grisay says assets have benefited from the continued increase in the FTSE100 as well as favourable currency movements.
He says: “Against an improving market backdrop, we have also
made further progress with investment consultants, none of whom now have F&C on a corporate ‘hold’ or ‘sell’ view. In particular we are gaining traction in Liability Driven Investments which will help us build flow momentum into 2010.”
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