Funds Under Management Drop A$75 Billion, Australian Reports

By Iain Wilson

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's managed funds industry has posted its worst performance for a six-month period in two decades, with a A$75 billion ($62 billion) slump in funds under management, the Australian newspaper said, citing a report from Merrill Lynch & Co.

Funds under management fell 5.4 percent to A$1.319 trillion for the six months ended June 30, the report said. The listed wealth manager sector fell even further, posting an average decline of 14 percent in funds under management, the report said.

For the 12 months ended June 30, the net inflow of funds totaled A$14 billion, falling well short of an expected A$65 billion inflow, the newspaper reported.

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell almost 18 percent in the first half of the year and is down almost 29 percent since its recent peak in early November last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Iain Wilson in Sydney at iwilson2@bloomberg.net