Premier Miton Group’s assets under management (AUM) ended March 31 at £9bn, down from £10.3bn at the end of September 2025, driven by “disappointing” returns in international equity strategies.
The half-year’s £1.3bn net outflows were a significant step up from 2025’s half-year results, when the firm shed £254m by comparison.
Christopher Williams, chair of Premier Miton Group, said: “A confluence of negative factors combined in the first half of the year, including unsettled market conditions and continued caution among UK retail investors, alongside specific areas of weaker short-term investment performance.”
The worst-performing part of the business was the global equity division, which saw AUM drop from £2.38bn at the end of September 2025 to £1.4bn at the time of writing. Roughly £879m of this came from a decline in net flows, with the remainder from poor market performance.
To address this, the firm has aimed to strengthen leadership and accountability by appointing a new head of global equities, dividing responsibilities more clearly and improving the governance framework.
See also: Premier Miton appoints former Fidelity manager as new head of global equities
Absolute return also struggled, down by roughly £224m, owing to increased market volatility in March causing some clients to reduce risk exposure.
Mike O’Shea, chief executive officer of Premier Miton Group, said: “While market conditions have remained challenging and net outflows have continued, this has been concentrated in a small number of strategies, with other parts of the business demonstrating resilience and ongoing client demand.”
Indeed, fixed income posted good half-year results, with AUM rising from £2.45bn to £2.73bn by the end of the period.
While multi-asset and multi-manager funds lost £78m in net flows, “Selected multi‑asset strategies have delivered strong outcomes, particularly where the proposition is clearly aligned with client needs for income and capital preservation,” according to O’Shea.
O’Shea said: “Our priority throughout the period has been to take pragmatic, targeted action: to protect profitability through a simpler and appropriately sized operating model; to strengthen governance and accountability in the areas that are holding back client outcomes and asset stability; and to focus growth effort on areas where we have genuine strength and where client demand remains structurally supportive.”
Gross profits for the period came in at £25.9m, slightly down from the same period last year, when profits were £32.4m. Meanwhile, net management fees and administration expenses both declined, with 53.6bps (down from 57bps) in the former and £23.3m (from £27.7m) for the latter.
The firm has also announced that from next year it will adopt a new dividend policy, distributing 75% of adjusted profit after tax. For the current financial year, the total distribution will be 3p per share, composed of a 1.5p per share interim dividend and an expected 1.5p final dividend.
