River And Mercantile Share Discussion Threads

[its the oxman] 15/6/2018 06:57

I presume it is the controversy over their investment manager Rodrigs leaving and possible loss of funds that has been responsible for the share price decline. Seems overdone when most asset manager related plays are benefitting from rising markets. Their aum total to end June will hopefully reassure if markets stay strong.

[speedsgh] 14/6/2018 17:55

My crystal ball is notoriously unreliable but I took the CFO buying around this level at start of May as reassuring. He ought to know who the business is faring. They always stress about the various parts of the business performing at different stages of the cycle. Proof will be in the pudding.

Share price has been weakish but wouldn't say it has been that weak. 20%+ off Jan highs around 390p. If 300p support fails, that would obviously be quite bearish. But it is still quite a way off the c200p levels of H2 2016.

According to WebFG, consensus is DPS 16.98p in current FY which gives 5.6% yield based on current 302p offer. Seems about right without evidence of stronger growth? Sorry for ramblings. Hope it helps.

[its the oxman] 14/6/2018 15:32

Shares stuck at 300p. Why so weak? Anyone thinking this is a good time to buy?

[exbroker] 29/5/2018 19:46

Good news looks like we are going into the small cap index announcement tomorrow after the close!

[speedsgh] 01/5/2018 15:40

CFO Kevin Hayes has bought £99,300 worth of shares...

Director/PDMR Shareholding -

27/4/18 Kevin Hayes (CFO) bought 8,000 @ 310p = £24,800
30/4/18 Kevin Hayes (CFO) bought 24,110 @ 309p = £74,500

[contrarian joe] 17/4/2018 13:01

They came up on my value screen,so decided to do some further research looked good on a lot of metrics especially "value to Aum" ,then i came to remuneration,bonuses etc, it seems they are taking the lions share of the rewards!!.

[speedsgh] 07/3/2018 10:37

From the CEO Statement in the Interims...

Recent News

I want to offer some comments on our recent announcement that we have parted company with Philip Rodrigs. We have said as much as we intend about the situation itself. In general, the reaction from clients and investors has been understanding and measured, but in one or two instances some questions have been raised over whether this represents a cultural issue in the firm. It is this issue I want to address.

Every business will suffer issues such as these, even great firms. The test of a business is not its avoidance of them - which is impossible - but rather the way it navigates them when they arrive. The strength of a business to deal with such issues is influenced significantly by the quality of its culture and the unity its people can demonstrate in working through issues.

We take our culture and conduct very seriously. It is critical in a business model where we are focused on helping clients fully understand their needs and then solving them. As a result, when we encounter threats to these areas our approach is to deal with them decisively and openly. This is important in a business that is based on openness and transparency with its clients and its people. But a consequence of this approach is that it is very clear to everyone when an issue has arisen. There is little we can do about this - the alternative is far worse for the long term success of the business.

I would therefore encourage investors to see this for what we consider it to be - an issue to be navigated by a business that is otherwise on a strong long term growth path and one which represents our determination to hold everyone in the Group to the same high standard, regardless of position.

[speedsgh] 07/3/2018 10:35

Half Year Report -

Interim Financial Report for the six months ended 31 December 2017

Investment Highlights
· Fee earning AUM/NUM increased by 5% to £32.6bn. Fee earning AUM/NUM increased by 13% from 31 December 2016.
· Net inflows in the period (including rebalance) were £0.8bn and investment performance added a further £0.8bn.
· Performance fees for the period were £7.4m.

Financial Highlights
· Statutory net profit after tax was £9.1m, compared to £6.1m for the six months ended 31 December 2016, an increase of 49% primarily due to growth in management fees and performance fees.
· Statutory basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) were 11.34 pence per share and 10.53 pence per share, compared to 7.41 pence and 7.40 pence respectively for the six months ended 31 December 2016.
· Adjusted profit after tax1 was £9.6m, an increase of 17% compared to £8.2m for the six months ended 31 December 2016.
· Adjusted basic and diluted EPS2 were 11.99 and 11.13 pence per share, compared to 10.03 pence and 10.02 pence respectively for the six months ended 31 December 2016.
· The Board of Directors have declared an interim dividend of 7.6 pence per share, of which 2.2 pence is a special dividend and relates to net performance fees. The dividend will be paid on 6 April 2018 to shareholders on the register as at 16 March 2018. The ex-dividend date is 15 March 2018.

Operating Highlights
· Net management and advisory fees were £31.6m, an increase of 8% over the prior six months and an increase of 19% over the six months ended 31 December 2016, due to the continued growth in AUM/NUM.
· Performance fees were £7.4m, an increase of 56% compared to £4.7m in the six months ended 31 December 2016.
· Adjusted underlying pre-tax margin3 was 27%, compared to 29% in the year ended 30 June 2017 and 27% for the six months ended 31 December 2016.
· While the outcome for the previously announced FCA competition matter is still uncertain, the Board believes that it is prudent to recognise a £1m provision, with a £0.5 reduction in variable remuneration expense leading to a net impact on profit before tax of £0.5m.

A PDF copy of the interim financial report can be found at

[speedsgh] 08/2/2018 15:28

River and Mercantile star investor ousted over ‘professional misconduct’ -

"... Mr Rodrigs, 36, who is taking legal advice, told The Times last night: “I dispute the conclusion they’ve come to.” He declined to say more..."

[speedsgh] 07/2/2018 13:13

Notification of Portfolio Manager Changes -

A River and Mercantile fund head has left the business following an internal investigation into "professional conduct" -

[topvest] 29/1/2018 19:44

Another positive update.

[speedsgh] 29/1/2018 16:23

Second quarter trading update -

Highlights for the three months ended 31 December 2017:
· Fee earning AUM/NUM increased by 6% to £32.6bn.
· Inflows were £2.5bn, including £1.7bn of sales and £0.3bn from the Emerging Markets Industrial Life Cycle (ILC) team.
· Redemptions in the quarter were £1.3bn, including £0.9bn of maturing structured equity transactions.
· Investment performance generated £0.5bn and was positive across all divisions.

Highlights for the six months ended 31 December 2017:
· Fee earning AUM/NUM increased by 5% to £32.6bn.
· Inflows were £3.6bn, including £2.6bn of sales and £0.3bn from the Emerging Markets ILC team.
· Redemptions in the period were £2.8bn, including £1.5bn of maturing structured equity transactions.
· Investment performance generated £0.8bn and was positive across all divisions.
· Performance fees earned in the six months ended 31 December 2017 are estimated to be in the region of £7m, of which £5m relates to the Fiduciary Management division and the balance is from Equity Solutions.
· Net advisory fees earned for the six months ended 31 December 3017 are estimated to be in the region of £5m.

Mike Faulkner, CEO of River and Mercantile, said:
We continue to deliver positive investment outcomes for clients across the Group, with all strategies outperforming on an absolute and relative basis since inception. Fee earning AUM increased by 6% during the quarter, which included the AUM transferred from Credit Suisse relating to the Emerging Markets ILC team.

Equity markets have seen relatively strong performance, which has supported the growth of the Equity Solutions division during the half.

Our pipeline remains robust, and we are seeing strong demand in the local government pension sector for our Derivatives services. We believe we are well placed to compete for business here, particularly as the sector consolidates into pools

[speedsgh] 30/11/2017 13:33

RMG PLC comment on the FCA Statement of Objections -

Fund houses probed by FCA for IPO price collusion -

Four asset managers have allegedly broken competition law by colluding on prices for flotations and a share placement, as the financial watchdog revealed the identities of companies that risk swingeing fines under its first price-fixing investigation.

Artemis Investment Management, Hargreave Hale, BNY Mellon’s Newton Investment Management and River & Mercantile Asset Management were named on Wednesday in the Financial Conduct Authority’s first so-called statement of objections, a formal step in antitrust probes that lays out initial findings of alleged rule breaches.

The companies ultimately risk fines of as much as 10 per cent of their worldwide turnover in a particular market if the FCA proves its case, which it opened in 2015. A number of individuals also face investigation under the FCA’s financial-regulatory rather than competition powers, people familiar with the case said.

The case turns on small-cap companies’ IPOs in 2014 and 2015. By allegedly colluding rather than competing on price, the asset managers may have pushed down the value at which the companies were listed.

The FCA alleged that Newton, Hargreave Hale and River & Mercantile disclosed or accepted information on prices relating to one IPO and a placing, while Artemis and Newton shared information on prices they were willing to pay in relation to another offering...

[speedsgh] 25/9/2017 08:46

Annual Financial Report -

Highlights for the year ended 30 June 2017
· Fee-earning AUM/NUM increased by 22% year on year, to £31.0bn;
· Net flows for the year were £3.8bn;
· Investment performance increased AUM by £1.7bn;
· Net management and advisory fees increased by 22% year on year to £55.9m;
· Performance fees were £12.5m, compared to £1.5m in the prior year. This reflects strong investment performance and more stable fixed income yields;
· Statutory net profit after tax was £13.4m, compared to £5.9m in the prior year;
· Statutory basic earnings per share were 16.45 pence per share, compared to 7.15 pence per share in the prior year;
· Adjusted underlying profit before tax1 was £16.4m, compared to £11.1m in the prior year;
· Adjusted profit after tax2 was £18.6m, compared to £9.5m in the prior year;
· Adjusted basic earnings per share3 was 22.90 pence per share, compared to 11.62 pence per share in the prior year;

· The Board of Directors have declared a second interim dividend of 8.1p per share, of which 2.8p is a special dividend and relates to net performance fees. The dividend will be paid on 3 November 2017 to shareholders on the register as at 13 October 2017. The ex-dividend date is 12 October 2017;

· The Board of Directors have proposed a final dividend for the year ended 30 June 2017 of 6.0p per share, of which 2.8p is a special dividend and relates to net performance fees. The dividend will be paid on 15 December 2017 to shareholders on the register as at 24 November 2017, subject to approval by shareholders at the Group's AGM. The ex-dividend date is 23 November 2017;

· The total dividends paid, declared and proposed are 19.7p per share, representing 80% of the adjusted underlying profit after tax and 100% of the net performance fee profit after tax.

...Mike Faulkner, Chief Executive Officer said:

"The Group's 2017 results, our best ever, show continued progress towards our stated growth aspirations. We remain true to the central idea of understanding our clients' problems and needs, and using our investment skills to solve them. This principle has allowed us to grow strongly in the three years since IPO, in a way that has been consistent with the strategy we set out at the time.

As a business we are now far stronger in every way - depth of people, scale and skills, and breadth of clients - and as a result we have refreshed our strategy to reflect this. Our ambition for growth continues, but we will remain focused on our central idea, just applied to a broader range of markets, and with an emphasis on delivering returns."

[westcountryboy] 25/9/2017 07:12

Yes, just bought some - had to pay 317.3 and 315.25 though...

[topvest] 25/9/2017 07:05

Very impressive results.

[speedsgh] 17/8/2017 12:05

Trading Update (31/7/17) -

Highlights for the three months ended 30 June 2017:
· Fee earning AUM/NUM increased by 1% to £31.0bn.
· Net inflows were £0.4bn in the quarter, with net sales of £0.2bn and positive rebalancing flows in Derivative Solutions of £0.2bn.
· Performance fees in the three months ended 30 June 2017 are estimated to be £6.7m, of which £5.0m relates to the Equity Solutions division.

Highlights for the twelve months ended 30 June 2017:
· Fee earning AUM/NUM increased by 22% to £31.0bn.
· Net inflows were £3.8bn in the year, with net sales of £2.2bn and positive rebalancing flows in Derivative Solutions of £1.6bn.
· Positive investment performance in all divisions added £1.7bn.
· Performance fees for the twelve months ended 30 June 2017 are estimated to be £12.5m.

Mike Faulkner, CEO of River and Mercantile, said:
In the quarter, we grew assets and in-force revenue from positive net flows and rebalance in Derivative Solutions. Our client orientated solutions and low attrition rates have resulted in positive net flows in each of the last thirteen quarters since the IPO in 2014.

We remain well positioned to continue this growth and will continue to invest in our operating platform, international capabilities and new product launches.

This year has seen record aggregate performance fees of £12.5m and our investment platform has delivered strong performance across all of our divisions. I believe it is rare for any investment firm to have this consistency across product offerings, and that is testament to both the quality of our people and the focus of the business on those areas we are confident we can do well.

[speedsgh] 26/6/2017 14:43

Emerging Markets Team To Join River and Mercantile -

[speedsgh] 19/4/2017 19:11

Trading Statement -

Highlights for the three months ended 31 March 2017:
· Fee earning AUM/NUM increased by 6% to £30.6bn.
· Net inflows were £1.3bn in the quarter, with net sales of £0.5bn and positive rebalancing flows in Derivative Solutions of £0.8bn.
· Positive investment performance in all divisions added £0.5bn.
· Performance fees in the three months ended 31 March 2017 are estimated to be £1.1m.
· Mandates in transition in Equity Solutions - Institutional include £0.2bn relating to the previously announced Willis Towers Watson mandate with Alliance Trust.

Highlights for the nine months ended 31 March 2017:
· Fee earning AUM/NUM increased by 20% to £30.6 bn.
· Net inflows were £3.4bn in the nine months, with net sales of £2.0bn and positive rebalancing flows in Derivative Solutions of £1.4bn.
· Positive investment performance in all divisions added £1.7bn.
· Performance fees for the nine months ended 31 March 2017 are estimated to be £5.9m.

Mike Faulkner, CEO of River and Mercantile, said:

In the quarter, we grew assets and in-force revenue from both positive net flows and investment performance. Our investment performance track record continues to be strong across all products. Our client orientated solutions and low attrition rates have resulted in positive net flows in each of the last twelve quarters since the IPO in 2014.

We remain well positioned to continue this growth and will continue to invest in our operating platform, international capabilities and new product launches. The River and Mercantile Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund, launched in September 2014, now has over £100m in AUM and we will be launching and seeding a Global Macro strategy in 2017.

[topvest] 27/2/2017 18:14

Impressive interim results. I really like this company and the management team.

[speedsgh] 27/2/2017 14:23

Video interview on Interim Results with CEO, CFO & Head of Asset Management...

[speedsgh] 27/2/2017 14:18

Half-year Report -

Investment Highlights
· Fee earning AUM/NUM increased by 13% to £28.7bn, and mandated AUM/NUM increased by 15% during the period. Fee earning AUM/NUM increased by 28% from 31 December 2015.
· Net sales in the period were £1.5bn. The Group has had positive net sales in all 11 quarters since IPO.
· Net inflows in the period (including rebalance) were £2.0bn with all divisions having net positive flows.
· Performance fees for the period were £4.7m.

Financial Highlights
· Statutory net profit after tax was £6.1m, compared to £2.7m for the six months ended 31 December 2015, primarily due to growth in management fees and performance fees.
· Statutory basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) were 7.41 pence per share and 7.40 pence per share, compared to 3.25 pence and 3.01 pence respectively for the six months ended 31 December 2015.
· Adjusted profit after tax1 was £7.6m, compared to £4.9m for the six months ended 31 December 2015.
· Adjusted basic and diluted EPS2 were 9.26 pence per share and 9.25 pence per share, compared to 5.98 pence and 5.55 pence respectively for the six months ended 31 December 2015.
· The Board of Directors have declared an interim dividend of 5.6 pence per share, of which 1.4 pence is a special dividend and relates to net performance fees. The dividend will be paid on 31 March 2017 to shareholders on the register as at 10 March 2017. The ex-dividend date is 9 March 2017.

Operating Highlights
· Net management fees were £21.4m, an increase of 13% over the prior six months and an increase of 20% over the six months ended 31 December 2015, due to the continued growth in AUM/NUM.
· Net advisory fees were £5.2m, an increase of 14% from the prior six months and an increase of 22% from the six months ended 31 December 2015.
· Performance fees were £4.7m, compared to £0.3m in the prior six months and £1.2m in the six months ended 31 December 2015.
· Adjusted underlying pre-tax margin3 was 27%, compared to 24% in the year ended 30 June 20 16.

[speedsgh] 13/2/2017 12:20

Nice move in share price since start of year. Moving towards ATHs in anticipation of Interims due in the next couple of weeks.

[speedsgh] 30/1/2017 20:13

Trading Statement -

The following are comparables from previous Trading Statements over the past 12 months or so.

Fee earning AUM/NUM
3m to 30/9/15: £21.5bn (+2%)
3m to 31/12/15: £22.5bn (+5%)
3m to 31/3/16: £23.6bn (+5%)
3m to 30/6/16: £25.5bn (+8%)
3m to 30/9/16: £27.9bn (+9%)
3m to 31/12/16: £28.7bn (+3%)

Net inflows/outflows
3m to 30/9/15: net inflows £592m (net sales £152m; rebalancing flows in Derivative Solutions £440m)
3m to 31/12/15: net inflows £909m
3m to 31/3/16: net inflows £800m
3m to 30/6/16: net inflows £1.4bn
3m to 30/9/16: net inflows £1.3bn (net sales £0.9bn; rebalancing flows in Derivative Solutions £0.4bn)
3m to 31/12/16: net inflows £0.7bn (net sales £0.6bn; rebalancing flows in Derivative Solutions £0.1bn)

Investment performance
3m to 30/9/15: Investment performance -£133m
3m to 31/12/15: Investment performance N/A
3m to 31/3/16: Investment performance +£305m
3m to 30/6/16: Investment performance +£0.6bn
3m to 30/9/16: Investment performance +£1.0bn
3m to 31/12/16: Investment performance +£0.2bn

Performance fees
3m to 30/9/15: Performance fees N/A
3m to 31/12/15: Performance fees N/A
3m to 31/3/16: Performance fees £0.34m
3m to 30/6/16: Performance fees £0.0m
3m to 30/9/16: Performance fees £2.3m
3m to 31/12/16: Performance fees £2.4m

[topvest] 11/11/2016 19:58

I've doubled up. Looks good value on a 6% dividend yield. CEO looks like he is worth backing.