For many investors the premise of investing is quite straightforward – buy decent companies at reasonable prices and hold them for the long term.
Right now there are three fund management businesses which have all been sold off quite heavily since the beginning of 2016.
While opinion will (of course) differ, for the most part I consider listed funds management firms to be attractive businesses.
Yes, there can be "key man" risk, however, in more established firms this can generally be managed.
Balancing the risks are a consistent (sticky) revenue stream from charging fees for funds under management (FUM) and the leverage off a relatively fixed cost base. These factors can make the funds management business model highly attractive.
With the share prices of Platinum Asset Management Limited (ASX: PTM), Henderson Group plc (ASX: HGG) and Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) down 19%, 17% and 12% respectively since the beginning of the calendar year, the current pricing of these three stocks is beginning to look appealing.
According to analyst consensus estimates provided by Reuters, Platinum is forecast to earn around 37 cents per share (cps) over each of the next two financial years. With its share price currently trading at $6.50, this implies a price-to-earnings (PE) multiple of 17.6x.
Henderson's shares are currently trading at $5.23, Henderson's share price is likely down at least partially in response to some investor concern regarding the so-called Brexit – the possibility that the UK will exit the European Union. Based on consensus data, earnings per share (EPS) are expected to increase from around 34 cps to 38 cps over the next two calendar years. Based on the forecast for 2016, the stock is trading on a PE of 15.4x.
Magellan is forecast to earn approximately 115 cps in the current 2016 financial year (FY), with EPS rising to around 119 cps in FY 2017. Based on next year's estimate and a share price of $24, the stock is trading on a PE ratio of 21x.
