Polar Capital’s flagship technology funds had withdrawals of about £24mn a week in the year to the end of March 2023, and about the same again in the year before.
That £1.2bn annual figure represents the bulk of the £1.5bn of net outflows the firm suffered during the year.
Those figures are contained in Polar Capital’s annual results, and contrast with a net inflow of £1.8bn into the funds in 2021, a period when, in the words of Gavin Rochussen, “the year that benefited from the so called Covid-19 winners.”
The Polar Capital technology fund, which is managed by Ben Rogoff, is currently £4bn in size. In performance terms it lost over 20 per cent, and has sharply underperformed relative to its sector on a three year basis.
Darius McDermott, investment adviser to the VT Chelsea range of multi-manager funds, is invested in the investment trust version of this fund.
He said: “The outflows are a function of the wider sell-off in tech rather than a comment on the fund managers. They have a very long track record and they invest in the large cap technology companies, so there isn’t really an issue around liquidity.”
Data from our sister publication Asset Allocator reveals that two of the larger discretionary fund houses in the UK sold out of this fund during the period covered by these results.
The results showed that Polar Capital made a profit of £45.2mn during the year. This represents a drop of 27 per cent on the prior year.
The firm has total assets under management of £19.2bn, compared with £22.1bn the prior year.
Rochussen said in the annual results statement that he regarded the outflows figures as better than those of some rivals.
Of the longer-term prospects for the company, he explained that strategic progress continued under the 'growth with diversification' mantra, with progress on diversifying its distribution footprint into new regions.
"The Nordic region has become a significant market where our funds find favour and we have opened an office in Singapore to service a growing Asian client base."
Rochussen added: "We have continued to develop our US footprint with experienced business development capability covering the major regions within the US. This has resulted in promising net inflows into the US 40 Act Fund and increased interest in our Emerging Markets Stars fund strategies.
"The group's strong balance sheet and range of differentiated fund strategies positions us well for the future, supported by our performance led approach and our strong culture."
David.Thorpe@ft.com
