Impax Asset Management has cut over 30 jobs since October in an effort to “neutralise the loss” of its mandate for the £5bn St. James’s Place Sustainable & Responsible Equity fund.
The fund represented 8% of the firm’s annualised revenues, prompting the need to “accelerate [its] efficiency programme”, according to chief executive Ian Simm.
Its loss led to a 16.4% drop in Impax’s total assets under management from £34.1bn at the end of 2024 to £28.5bn in February.
See also: Impax suffers £2.4bn net outflows as SJP closes mandate
Impax managed SJP Sustainable & Responsible Equity since late 2018, during which time the fund delivered a total return of 79%. SJP moved the mandate to Schroders.
The recent redundancies, which represent 10% of the firm’s total headcount, are expected to reduce Impax’s annual costs by £11m.
Simm forecasts further outflows in the near term, but hopes for flows to even out by the end of the year.
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“We expect to report net outflows for March, following a small number of account closures within our institutional channel.,” Simm added. “With an average fee margin of c. 30 basis points, these accounts are below our current average margin of c. 49 basis points.
“Nevertheless, we continue to see material client interest in our investment capabilities and offering, and the flows into our collective funds have been improving. Looking ahead to the third and fourth quarters, we are encouraged by our pipeline and by significant recent account wins.”