NEW YORK, Sept.10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Most of the 17 firms in the kasina asset manager composite saw a drop in assets under management in the calendar second quarter of 2015, due in part to cash investment outflows and negative market appreciation mostly in their fixed income investments. Only four of the 16 asset managers that report assets under management (SEI does not disclose) were able to avoid declines during the period. That group included Janus Capital Group, Pzena Investment Management, Calamos Investments, and Affiliated Managers.

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Nevertheless, overall operating margins for most firms improved q/q for the period, as 11 asset managers saw an increase of 50 basis points or more. Overall composite operating margins reached their highest levels since we started tracking the industry in 2008. On a weighted basis, composite operating margins climbed q/q by 120 basis points to an impressive 34.9%, up from 33.7% in Q1 2015, and 34.2% in the year-ago period. Overall composite operating margins also increased on an equal-weighted basis or simple average basis, increasing q/q by 179 basis points to 32.7%. T. Rowe Price and BlackRock were once again the most profitable firms among the larger asset managers we track, while Pzena Investments, GAMCO, and Artisan Partners were the leading firms among the smaller asset managers.

As we look ahead, continued declines in AUM and/or ongoing negative cash flows for many of the asset management firms in our composite will undoubtedly cause overall industry margins to fall in subsequent quarters. The market downturn over the past week is not likely to help in that regard. So we may look back at this past quarter as the profitability apex for the industry over the near term.

Operating margins for the four wirehouse distributors operating margins also improved, but the increases were well behind those of asset managers in the composite. In Q2 2015, wirehouse operating margins increased by 40 basis points to 22.4%, and 50 basis points from the year-ago quarter. Assets under management were down for three of the wirehouse firms, with Bank of America Wealth Management/Merrill Lynch the lone firm posting an increase in AUM. Advisor productivity over the period was largely flat for the four distributors, both in regard to revenue and assets.

Note: kasina's asset management composite includes: BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, INVESCO, Legg Mason, T. Rowe Price, Affiliated Managers Group, Alliance Bernstein, Federated Investors, Eaton Vance, SEI, Janus Capital Group, Waddell & Reed, Artisan Partners, Cohen & Steers, GAMCO, Calamos, Pzena Investment Management

About kasina - a DST Company
kasina's commitment to innovating distribution in the financial services industry has made it one of the most influential strategy consulting firms in its sector. kasina works with a wide variety of clients from five continents, including firms representing 90% of the U.S.'s total assets under management. An overview of services offered by kasina is available at www.kasina.com.

About DST
DST Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of sophisticated information processing and servicing solutions to companies around the world. Through its global enterprise, DST delivers strategically unified transactions and business processing, data management, and customer communications solutions to the asset management, brokerage, retirement, and healthcare markets. Headquartered in Kansas City, MO., DST is a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.dstsystems.com.

Media Contact:

Laura M. Parsons
DST Global Public Relations
816.843.9087
mediarelations@dstsystems.com

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SOURCE kasina