Zurich-listed GAM Holding said today its assets under management reached SFr75.6 billion ($80.4 billion) at the end of September this year, a rise of 8 per cent from the end of last year and 3 per cent higher from 30 June.

Zurich-listed GAM Holding said today its assets under management reached SFr75.6 billion ($80.4 billion) at the end of September this year, a rise of 8 per cent from the end of last year and 3 per cent higher from 30 June.

The investment house said the rise was driven by “solid net new money inflows” and the rise of the dollar against the Swiss franc, which is the firm’s reporting currency. These factors more than offset the effect of falling prices for precious metals and “generally challenging conditions” in fixed income markets.

“Client activity and demand remained resilient across the Group's product range, despite increasing concerns regarding global growth and geopolitical developments,” GAM Holding said in a statement.
The firm said its specialised fixed income strategies saw robust net inflows, particularly the Julius Baer-branded European asset-backed securities strategy and the GAM-branded credit opportunities and cat bond strategies. Flows into most emerging market fixed income funds were positive for the quarter, while traditional bond products and low-margin money market funds experienced net outflows.

Overall, the absolute return/unconstrained bond strategy recorded modest net new money inflows in the third quarter. While institutional inflows remained strong throughout the quarter, towards the end of the reporting period the strategy experienced redemptions from financial intermediaries.

Several directional equity strategies benefited from growing net new money inflows in the third quarter, notably the Julius Baer-branded Japan and European strategies, as well as GAM's US, global, emerging market and technology strategies.

Inflows into GAM Holding’s group's multi-asset capabilities were positive: GAM's discretionary and advisory portfolios recorded net inflows, with positive flows into mandates directly managed for clients and into the risk-rated model portfolios offered to independent financial advisers. Swiss & Global Asset Management's institutional business also ended the quarter with net new money inflows, GAM Holding said.

Net outflows were recorded in the physical gold ETF, following a renewed fall in the gold price, and in alternative investment solutions, where the performance of certain traditional funds of hedge funds strategies remained soft in absolute terms.

Private labelling - the area providing outsourcing solutions to third parties and contributing around 6 per cent of GAM Holding’s revenues - ended the quarter with assets under management of SFr48.5 billion. Asset levels rose by 5 per cent or SFr2.3 billion from 30 June 2014.