Bank of New York Mellon's investment and wealth management division reported $2 trillion in assets under management as of March 31, a slight decrease of 1% from three months earlier but flat year-over-year.
The decrease seen in investment management was attributed to a mix of assets under management flows, adjustment for certain rebates, lower seed capital gains and lower equity investment income that was partially offset by higher market values, according to an April 11 earnings release. The release noted the AUM figure for the first quarter is preliminary.
“Looking ahead, we are prepared for a wide range of macroeconomic and market scenarios as the outlook for the operating environment is becoming more uncertain,” said Robin Vince, president and CEO, in the firm’s release. “Our work to operate BNY as a more platforms-oriented company, combined with our highly capitalized, liquid and lower credit risk balance sheet, positions us to manage dynamically and act as a source of strength as we support our clients in navigating the current environment.”
BNY posted total net outflows of $18 billion during the first quarter in its investment and wealth management unit following outflows of $15 billion the previous quarter.
By asset type, index strategies saw net outflows of $11 billion, cash saw outflows of $5 billion, equity strategies saw outflows of $2 billion and multiasset and alternative investments had $2 billion in outflows. Meanwhile, fixed income saw $2 billion of net inflows and liability-driven investments had $1 billion of inflows for the quarter.
Vince said during the firm’s earnings call that he expects tariff negotiations to take time and that a “clear final picture won't be reached for a while.”
“I think with a 90-day pause on tariffs, and then, you know, probably a fairly long tail on full emergence of a clear picture, I think you have to be a little bit pessimistic here about how the economy is going to evolve over the course of the next six to nine months,” Vince said. “I'd love to be wrong on that one. But I think, as every day goes by, let's call it this trade has negative carry to be able to hold.”
