Trading Update

RNS Number : 9570E

Record PLC

15 April 2011

 



RECORD PLC

FOURTH QUARTER TRADING UPDATE

Record plc ("Record" or the "Company"), the specialist currency manager, announces today that as at 31^st March 2011 the Group's assets under management equivalents ("AuME") totalled $31.4 billion (31^st December 2010: $31.4 billion). 

AuME expressed in Sterling as at 31^st March 2011 totalled £19.6 billion (31^st December 2010: £20.1 billion).

The Board anticipates that pre tax profits for the financial year ended 31^st March 2011 will be broadly in line with market expectations.

1      AuME composition

Record saw no change in overall AuME when expressed in US Dollars and a marginal fall when expressed in Sterling during the period between 31^st December 2010 and 31^st March 2011.  The composition of AuME at 31^st March 2011 was as follows:

AuME $ bn
	31st March 2011		31st December 2010
Currency for Return
Segregated (Note 1)	2.2		2.7
Pooled	1.2		1.3
Currency for Return Sub Total		3.4		4.0
Dynamic Hedging		11.9		11.7
Passive Hedging		15.7		15.3
Cash & Futures		0.4		0.4
Total		31.4		31.4

Note 1: This includes $1.1bn of Emerging Market strategies (31^st December 2010 $1.0bn).

2      AuME MOVEMENT

Net client AuME flows in the three months to 31^st March 2011 by product were as follows:

Net client AuME flows  - $ bn
	3 mths to 31st March 2011		3 mths to 31st December 2010
Currency for Return
Segregated	(0.6)		0.5
Pooled	(0.1)		(0.6)
Currency for Return Sub Total		(0.7)		(0.1)
Dynamic Hedging		(0.1)		-
Passive Hedging		(0.2)		0.2
Cash & Futures		-		(0.1)
Total		(1.0)		0.0

Record had 46 clients at 31^st March 2011, compared to 47 at 31^st December 2010.

The factors other than client flows which impacted AuME during the quarter, totalling $1.0 billion, were:

(i)         Exchange rate movements:                                                             $0.5bn     Exchange rate movements during the period affect the conversion of non-US Dollar mandate sizes into US Dollar AuME;

(ii)        Movements in global stock and other markets:                           $0.5bn         Substantially all the Passive and Dynamic Hedging, and some of the Currency for Return mandates are linked to stock and other market levels. Consequently AuME is affected by movements in these markets;

(iii)       Pooled fund investment performance:                                          $0.0bn         Investment returns are compounded on a geared basis into the AuME of the pooled funds and so impact AuME.

Investment performance in Record's established Currency for Return product was positive during the quarter ending 31^st March 2011 and for an un-geared portfolio equated to a positive return of 0.08% over the quarter (12 months to 31^st March 2011: negative return of -3.39%).  This compares to a positive return in the quarter of 0.95% for the FTSE Currency FRB10 index (excess return in Sterling), because of the index's greater exposure to less liquid currencies and absence of risk management costs. 

3   AVERAGE FEE RATES

During the quarter to 31^st March 2011, fee rates for both Passive and Dynamic Hedging were maintained.  As announced on 17^th March, we have re-negotiated the fees on our largest Dynamic Hedging mandate to a tiered management fee, resulting in a net fee reduction from this client of £2.9 million on an annualised basis.  This will reduce the average fee rate on Dynamic Hedging from 1^st April 2011.  As indicated in the third quarter IMS, whilst individual client fee rates have remained unchanged, average management fee rates in the second half of the year have seen a marginal reduction for both pooled and segregated Currency for Return clients as a result of a change in business mix. 

4   CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S COMMENT

Chief Executive James Wood-Collins, commenting on trading, said "As the US dollar weakened throughout the period from January to March 2011, our Dynamic Hedging product from the US perspective allowed investors to participate in the majority of the currency gains.  Sterling showed mixed performance during the period and as a result our Dynamic Hedging product, for UK investors, delivered gains in January and February as Sterling strengthened.  In March, as a result of Sterling weakness and range trading behaviour, some of the earlier gains were eroded.

Whilst it is clearly disappointing not to have won any new mandates for Dynamic Hedging in the financial year ending 31^st March 2011, we have seen requests for proposals (RFPs) for Dynamic Hedging and are hopeful that there could be further client additions in 2011.  We have also seen interest in both execution only and Passive Hedging and believe that additional mandates are likely to be secured in the coming months.  This business is attractive in its own right, and also offers opportunities to seek to migrate at least some of these new clients to higher value-added services in the future.

For the established Currency for Return product, investment performance for the year ending 31^st March 2011 has been negative with an overall return of our Alpha Composite of -3.39%.  The continuing poor performance and the overall three year negative performance has seen further client redemptions over the last twelve months.  We remain committed to the investment philosophy and process underpinning this product, and to supporting it for our clients.  Whilst we may see continued client losses from this product, the overall impact on the business will be less pronounced in the coming period due to the relative size of the Currency for Return business compared to Dynamic Hedging.    

We continue to engage with investment consultants, current and prospective clients with regards to the FTSE FRB10 Index fund and the Emerging Market Currency fund, and are optimistic about both these funds' longer-term prospects."

Record will announce its financial results for the year ended 31^st March 2011 on 14^th June 2011 and its first quarter trading update on 15^th July 2011.

For further information, please contact:

Record plc                                                                             Tel: [phone]

Neil Record

James Wood-Collins

Paul Sheriff

MHP                                                                                         Tel: [phone]

Nick Denton

John Olsen

Vicky Watkins

Notes to Editors

Record plc

Record is a specialist currency manager and provider of currency hedging services for institutional clients. Founded in 1983, Record has established a market leading position as a currency manager. Specifically, the Group has a leading position in managing Dynamic Hedging and Currency for Return for institutional clients.

The Group has three principal product lines:

-    Currency for Return, formerly known as Absolute Return, in which Record enters into currency contracts for clients with the objective of generating positive returns;

-    Dynamic Hedging, formerly known as Active Hedging, where Record seeks to eliminate the impact of currency movements on elements of clients' investment portfolios that are denominated in foreign currencies when these movements are expected to result in an economic loss to the client, but not to do so when they are expected to result in an economic gain; and

-    Passive Hedging, where Record seeks to eliminate fully or partially the economic impact of currency movements on elements of clients' investment portfolios that are denominated in foreign currencies.

Record (LSE: REC) was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange on 3^rd December 2007.

This announcement includes information with respect to Record's financial condition, its results of operations and business, strategy, plans and objectives. All statements in this document, other than statements of historical fact, including words such as "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", "may", "will", "continue", "project" and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the Company's future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause the actual future results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements contained in this document are based on numerous assumptions regarding Record's present and future business and strategy and speak only as at the date of this announcement. 

The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

 

END

 

 

TSTLLFEESSISLIL