MARKET REPORT: Departure of star stock picker casts gloom on Jupiter Fund Management

The departure of a star stockpicker was evident in results from Jupiter Fund Management, which showed outflows accelerated in the first six months of the year.

The FTSE 250-listed investment group reported total net outflows of £3.4bn in the six months to the end of June, up from £2.2bn at the end of last year.

Of that, £2.4bn came from value funds managed by Ben Whitmore, who is starting his own boutique firm, Brickwood Asset Management, widely regarded as one of the best fund managers in the area.

Jupiter’s total assets under management were below analysts’ expectations, coming in at £51.3bn, up from £51.4bn a year earlier.

However, half-year pre-tax profits rose 11 per cent to £38.7m, helping Jupiter climb 6.8 per cent, or 5.6p, to 88.1p. Also on the investment front, hedge fund manager Man Group gained 3.5 per cent, or 8.8p, to 259.6p, after assets under management rose to a record £138.5bn in the six months to the end of June, beating expectations.

After a rollercoaster week, the FTSE 100 rose 1.2 per cent, or 99.36 points, to 8,285.71.

The FTSE 250 also gained, rising 2.3 per cent, or 471.95 points, to 21,356.30.

Commodity-related woes gave a further boost to blue-chip stocks. Anglo American rose 5.1 percent, or 115 pence, to 2,380 pence after UBS analysts raised their rating on the miner to “buy” from “neutral.”

But Lloyds Banking Group fell 0.03 per cent, or 0.02 pence, to 60.66 pence as analysts at RBC Capital downgraded their rating after the stock hit their unchanged target of 60 pence.

Warehouse developer Segro was weak, losing 1.7 percent, or 15.2 pence, to 892 pence, as the property firm reported a decline in the value of its net assets even as it made a profit in its latest six-month period and raised its interim dividend.

And property portal Rightmove fell 1.4 per cent, or 8p, to 560p as concerns about the challenges of tough mortgage conditions offset resilient half-year results, with profits up 1.8 per cent to £132.6m.

Engineer IMI rose 3.2%, or 58p, to 1,860p after announcing a half-year profit improvement and a £100m share buyback. And technology-focused private equity firm Molten Ventures gained 6%, or 21p, to 370p after announcing a new £10m share buyback programme and agreeing a new £180m credit facility.

However, Computacenter fell 0.2 percent, or 6 pence, to 2,660 pence as the IT and services provider expects first-half profit to fall around 29 percent from a year earlier.

Among small-caps, Rome Resources began trading on AIM after the listed Canadian tin miner reverse-bought Pathfinder Minerals, gaining 10.9 per cent, or 0.03 pence, to 0.31 pence.

And Record rose 0.6 percent, or 0.4 pence, to 66.9 pence after the currency and asset manager made a strong start to the year.

But Webis fell 35.7 percent, or 0.5 pence, to 0.9 pence as the gaming firm said an expected improvement in its business-to-consumer segment failed to materialise.