Three major money managers today reported gains in assets under management for the third quarter.
• State Street Global Advisors reported $1.41 trillion in assets as of Sept. 30, up 2.9% from the end of the second quarter and 13.7% above the third quarter of 2004. Also, State Street Corp., parent of SSgA, reported assets under custody reached $9.8 trillion, compared with $9.62 trillion at the end of the second quarter and $9 trillion in the year-ago quarter.
"Our year-over-year servicing and management fee revenue growth continues to be strong, driven in part by new business and deepening relationships with existing customers," Ronald E. Logue, State Street's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "Our results this quarter, as well as our healthy new business pipeline, position us to achieve our financial goals for the year."
In the third quarter, the company earned $143 million, which included a $165 million charge to sell its Bel Air Investment Advisors unit. That's compared with $220 million in the second quarter and $177 million in the third quarter of 2004. Third-quarter revenue reached $1.39 billion, up slightly from $1.36 billion in the second quarter and $1.17 billion in the third quarter of 2004. Third-quarter net income from continuing operations totaled $250 million.
• Mellon Financial Corp.'s assets rose 3.9% in the third quarter to $766 billion, a company news release said. That's a 14.3% increase from the third quarter of 2004.
Mellon's total investment management fee revenues were $479 million, an 8.1% increase over the second quarter and up 26.4% from the third quarter of 2004. Investment management fees in the institutional and mutual fund businesses were $91 million for the quarter, a 9% increase from the second quarter and a 30% increase over the same quarter last year. The company attributed the spike in fees to an improvement in the equity markets, net inflows and higher levels of performance fees.
Overall, Mellon reported income from continuing operations of $196 million for the quarter, 3.5% below the second quarter but 8.3% higher than the third quarter 2004.
• Merrill Lynch Investment Managers reported $524 billion in assets at the end of the third quarter, up 9.6% from both the same period a year ago and the second quarter, according to the firm's quarterly report filed with the SEC. The increase over the past year was powered by a 29.5% boost in non-U.S. assets under management, to $202 billion. MLIM managed $246 billion in institutional assets at the end of the third quarter, a 7.9% increase from the third quarter of 2004 and a 14.4% increase over the second quarter. The firm's total U.S. assets under management were $322 billion at the end of the quarter, the same as a year earlier.
Overall, MLIM posted net revenues of $456 million for the quarter, a 22% increase over Sept. 30, 2004, numbers. The company attributed the increase to higher long-term asset values and "an improvement in the fee profile of assets under management," according to the filing. The firm's pre-tax earnings were $162 billion for the quarter, a 46% increase from one year ago. The earnings increase resulted from higher revenues and lower "non-compensation expenses."
