Individual life and income protection have been the only areas of Axa’s wealth management operation to generate positive fund flows for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.
Overall net inflows during the period for the local wealth management arm were $942.1 million, representing a 33 per cent drop in comparison to $1.41 billion attracted for the same time frame last year.
The fall in net flows was a direct result of the decline in equity markets over the period, according to Axa, with the S&P/ASX300 experiencing a dip of 14.6 per cent and the MSCI Index excluding Australia dropping by 12.4 per cent.
In contrast, the organisation’s individual life new business inflows climbed to $12.3 million, a 22 per cent increase from the $10.1 million inflows achieved for the same period in 2007.
Furthermore, income protection inflows experienced a 7 per cent rise to $5.5 million up from $5.1 million last year.
However, the news was not so bright for Axa’s platform or advice businesses with the two areas witnessing a fall in net inflows of 49 per cent and 89 per cent respectively. The net inflows for platforms was reported to be $171 million in the current year down form a level of $334 million in 2007.
Similarly, the net inflows generated from advisory services came in at $13.9 million, down from $125.3 million the previous year.
Investment net inflows had a slightly less dramatic fall of 12 per cent, producing an incoming total of $660.6 million, caused by a shift in investor sentiment to more defensive asset classes, according to the fund manager.
“It has been a challenging start to 2008 in investment markets and for companies in our industry. Against this background I am pleased with our first quarter results,” Axa Asia Pacific group chief executive Andrew Penn said.
