T. Rowe Price Group reported assets under management of $1.34 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2023, a 5.3% increase from the previous quarter, but a 13.5% decline from a year ago.
Net outflows totaled $16.1 billion in the first quarter, which were more than offset by net market appreciation and gains of $83.1 billion in the quarter, said a Tuesday release.
By asset class, equity strategies saw net outflows of $23.5 billion in the first quarter, while multiasset products, alternative strategies and fixed income (including money markets), witnessed net inflows of $7.1 billion, $200 million and $100 million, respectively.
By client type, retail products saw net outflows of $10.7 billion, while institutions had net outflows of $5.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
For comparison's sake, the Baltimore-based asset manager posted net outflows of $17.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, and net outflows of $5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
"Our first quarter 2023 showed some encouraging signs, despite the challenging environment," Rob Sharps, CEO and president, stated in the release. "Markets posted gains, our investment performance showed signs of improvement, and we had strong net inflows of $7.5 billion to our target date products. However, the market environment continues to be uncertain and our equity flows remain under pressure."
In T. Rowe Price's inaugural earnings call with analysts on Tuesday morning, Mr. Sharps said the net outflows in the first quarter were dominated by "outflows in our large-cap growth equity strategies, reflecting both continued weak industry demand and the lagging impact of investment performance challenges in these strategies."
Mr. Sharps also commented in the call that "we also will continue to look very seriously at acquisition opportunities. But I think we have a very high bar for acquisitions, they need to have minimal disruption to our ability to deliver on our existing commitments to clients and our culture."
