Appendix 4E Preliminary final report

Listing Rule 4.3A

Company Platinum Asset Management Limited

ASX Code PTM

Year Ended 30 June 2017

Previous corresponding period - Year Ended 30 June 2016

ABN 13 050 064 287

Results for Announcement to the Market

Announcement to the market for the Platinum Asset Management Limited Consolidated Group should be read in conjunction with the attached 30 June 2017 Annual Report:-

% Mvt

$A'000

Total revenue

-3.2%

333,549

Profit from ordinary activities after income tax

-3.6%

192,647

Net profit attributable to members

-7.4%

186,026

Basic and diluted EPS (cents per share)

31.74 cps

Platinum's underlying Funds delivered strong investment returns for their clients during 2017, both in absolute terms and relative to benchmark. This augers well for the future provided that this performance is maintained. However, average funds under management ("FUM") fell by 9.6% in the year, mostly as a result of historical under-performance, and fee revenue declined by 7.5%. Despite strong cost control, overall net profit attributable to owners fell by 7.4%.

The difference between overall profit from ordinary activities after income tax (down 3.6%) and net profit attributable to members (down 7.4%) relates to the deconsolidation of the Irish UCITS Fund from the consolidated entity, as required under Australian accounting standards.

The statement of comprehensive income presented in the attached audited financial statements discloses the investment income and expenses of the offshore UCITS' income for the period 1 July 2016 to 26 January 2017 and the consolidated entity's share of UCITS' net assets for the period 26 January 2017 to 30 June 2017.

Dividends

Dividend declared 15 cents per share fully-franked

Ex-dividend date 30 August 2017

Record date 31 August 2017

Payable date 22 September 2017

A fully-franked dividend of 15 cents per share was paid on 22 March 2017.

Level 8, 7 Macquarie Place, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia | GPO Box 2724, Sydney NSW 2001

Telephone 61 2 9255 7500 | Investor Services 1300 726 700 | Facsimile 61 2 9254 5590 | Email invest@platinum.com.au | Website www.platinum.com.au

Platinum Investment Management Limited ABN 25 063 565 006 AFSL 221935 trading as Platinum Asset Management®

Refer to the attached audited financial statements for financial data on the consolidated entity.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan

Whilst the Company has a Dividend Reinvestment Plan in place, it is not activated.

Other Information

Net tangible assets per share was $0.57 at 30 June 2017 as compared to $0.62 at 30 June 2016.

J Jefferies Company Secretary 24 August 2017

Platinum Asset Management Limited ("PTM") Chairman's Report 2017

This year has seen a number of interesting developments at the company. First and foremost though, it was marked by increased returns for the company's investment clients. Indeed, in some cases, recent investment performance has been nothing short of exceptional. For example Platinum's long only global fund, Platinum Unhedged Fund returned nearly 32% after fees and costs for the 12 months to 30 June 2017.

These investment returns, if sustained, may pave the way for increased profits and dividends but only after a period of time has elapsed as investors tend to take time to recognise and reward performance with increased funds.

The lag between improved investment performance and additional revenue was very much on display in 2017 and best illustrated by the behaviour of the firm's share price, which closed at $5.76 at 30 June last year, then bottomed at $4.23 in May 2017 before rebounding to around $5.72 in August 2017. I realise that this volatility of the PTM share price may have caused some consternation amongst some shareholders, so please allow me to take some time out to explain what I believe to be the underlying cause of this.

During late 2016, a combination of analysts and short sellers went public with their reasons as to why they believed PTM was a "sell". Their arguments can be summarised into four main categories: Platinum Investment Management Limited's ("Platinum") short-term investment returns, the strong support for indexed funds, fee pressures for active managers, and an apparently under-resourced product distribution team.

Each of these points is addressed below:

1. Platinum's returns:

It is true that in late 2016, the investment performance of Platinum's flagship global fund, Platinum International Fund ("PIF"), underperformed in the short-term and there is no denying that, following this period of underperformance, fund outflows for Platinum were significant which heavily influenced research coverage against the stock.

However, investment performance has lifted significantly over each quarter of FY2017 as highlighted in the table below. This table shows the performance of PIF and some of the other larger Platinum Trust Funds, relative to their respective nominated index returns.

Fund

Performance relative to the nominated index(%)

1 year: 30/6/16

1 year: 30/6/17 5 year annualised: 30/6/16

5 year annualised:30/6/17

Platinum International Fund

-5.7% pa

6.0% pa -2.1% pa

0% pa

Platinum Unhedged Fund

-9.2% pa

16.4% pa -2.4% pa

1.5% pa

Platinum International Brands Fund

-4.2% pa

12.4% pa -3.9% pa

-1.0% pa

Platinum Asia Fund

-1.2% pa

-3.3% pa 2.9% pa

1.6% pa

Platinum European Fund

1.8% pa

11.0% pa 2.3% pa

1.9% pa

Platinum Japan Fund

2.0% pa

8.3% pa 7.0%pa

9.3% pa

Source: Platinum Investment Management Limited. Returns of the funds are based on Class C Units (which do not have an investment performance fee), and represent the combined income and capital returns for the specified period. They are net of fees and costs (excluding the buy-sell spread). All returns are

pre-tax and assume the reinvestment of distributions. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Investment returns are calculated relative

to: the MSCI All Country World Net Index in A$ for Platinum International Fund, Platinum Unhedged Fund and Platinum International Brands Fund; the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Net Index in $A for the Platinum Asia Fund; the MSCI Japan Net Index in $A for the Platinum Japan Fund; and the MSCI All Country Europe Net Index in $A for the Platinum European Fund.

To take one example, the very strong one-year investment returns of the flagship Platinum International Fund contributed to its five-year annualised investment return relative to its

benchmark, which recovered from -2.1% for the year ended 30 June 2016 back to the benchmark return for the year ended 30 June 2017. It is worth noting that, PIF's annualised returns since inception have remained essentially unchanged, delivering around 6% per annum above the index.

2 .Support for Indexed Funds:

In the United States, indexed or passive equity strategies now account for approximately 40% of funds under management (FUM).

By contrast, in Australia, passive equity investment strategies only account for 20% of all FUM. Since January 2016, net flows to active managers for both local and global strategies ($914 million) continue to exceed net flows to passive strategies ($804 million)1.

Active investment management still continues to be valued by Australian institutional and retail investors but it would be remiss to ignore the strong overseas trend towards passive equity management.

Most research into this topic indicates that the momentum to passive management appears to be mostly driven by the recent underperformance of active managers, especially since the GFC. The implication being drawn is that the pool of so called "alpha" available to active managers to deliver out performance may have been significantly diminished by the enhanced efficiency and lower volatility of equity markets in recent years, perhaps best illustrated by the rise of algorithmic trading.

The theoretical construct observed by Professor William Sharpe certainly remains unchanged. Cumulative investment performance by all active managers against the relevant index is a zero sum game. That is, every active manager that underperforms the index will be offset by an active manager that delivers an equivalent amount of out-performance. This aggregate zero return then becomes negative after fees and transaction costs. However, what is true in aggregate does not extend to every individual manager. The key is not to lose faith in active management, but rather to pick the right active managers. That is, pick those active investment managers with proven track records, a strong investment process and a deep research team. I believe that this rare group of managers should remain well placed to deliver for clients in, what is likely to remain, a very uncertain and volatile environment.

The next question is the one perennially asked by asset consultants/rating agencies: "Can a given active manager prove its ability to deliver regular out performance, on a repeatable basis, over time?"

I think the answer is a resounding yes. More specifically, with respect to Platinum, whilst the investment management process continues to be refined over time to accommodate market dynamics, Platinum's commitment to value investing and capital protection remains intact and is at the core of its investment management process. The long-term outperformance of the Platinum Trust Funds since inception, relative to their indices, supports this view and, I believe, demonstrates the robustness and integrity of Platinum's investment process.

3. Fee Pressure for Active Managers:

Declining investment management fees for active investment strategies is a world-wide phenomenon, partly driven by the low cost of index funds as well as the difficulty in generating out performance in a low volatility, lower return world.

This fact of life for investment managers has resulted in many competitors significantly discounting fees in an attempt to retain their funds under management.

1 Bloomberg Business Week 1 June 2017.

Platinum Investment Management Limited published this content on 24 August 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 24 August 2017 06:52:05 UTC.

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