The total of A$4.5bn (£2.44bn, $3.5bn) was comprised of A$2.85bn for the Australian platform and the equivalent of A$1.65bn for the international operation. Both segments grew FUA at 23% over the year.
For the March quarter, gross platform and managed fund inflows globally were up A$326m.
“Although lower equity market valuations impacted overall FUA and market volatility negatively impacted investor sentiment, we are pleased to be able to report higher FUA level over the previous quarter despite a challenging environment,” said Praemium’s chief executive Michael Ohanessian.
“It’s fair to say the Australian market was down more than the UK market so I think in that context we are reasonably pleased with the result,” Ohanessian told International Adviser from Melbourne.
SMA growth
Praemium, founded in Australia in 2001, provides companies with investment platforms, allowing adviser firms and investment managers to deliver discretionary fund management to their clients, whether that is running their own model portfolios, making use of other discretionary fund managers or utilising its own Smartfunds range.
To do this it uses separately managed account (SMA) technology on its platforms.
“SMA technology has really taken off in Australia, and that same technology is what we do internationally,” Ohanessian said.
“My view is that this is an old story in the United States, it’s now a new story in Australia and I think it will come to international and UK markets sometime soon,” he said.
Tech pressure
“I also think ‘robo-advice’ is a revolution that is disrupting financial advice and I can’t see how advisers can survive if they don’t at least get half as effective as a ‘robo-adviser’ and that basically means switching to separately managed account technology like ours,” he said.
“We’re patient and simply waiting for the UK and international markets to move on.”
Praemium said its in-house proposition of SMA model portfolios and multi-asset funds grew to FUA of A$428m by March 31, an increase of 33%. The Smartfund 80% Protection Fund range, launched in September last year, had reached A$82 (£42m) over the period.
Ohanessian said the Smartfund range had demonstrated a good performance over the period since its launch until the end of February, gaining 1.2% compared with the MSCI World Index which fell 4.2%.
Praemium has offices in the UK, Jersey and Hong Kong and in February announced that it is in the process of setting up a new office in Dubai to help market its offshore investment platform to the local IFA market.
