Platinum Asset Management Limited (ASX: PTM) has seen its share price sink 5.3% today, and has lost a quarter of its value since the start of this year.
That's surprising for a company that makes its profits from investing in the market, and the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is virtually flat since January 2016, and the S&P 500 is up 2%.
Platinum isn't alone though – Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) has seen its share price sink 10.7% year-to-date, Perpetual Ltd (ASX: PPT) has seen its share price sink 8.4% and IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) has seen its share price sink 14% in the past five-six months.
Platinum Capital Limited (ASX: PMC) – the listed investment company managed by Platinum AM – has seen its share price fall 14.5% year-to-date. And while the fund has underperformed its benchmark index since January 2016, over the long term, it has returned close to double the MSCI All Country World Net Index.
Interestingly, Platinum's funds under management has declined since January but did rebound in May, compared to April – as the chart below shows.
However, Platinum's share price is virtually the same it was in early May.
One factor that may have contributed to Platinum's fall is the company's much higher exposure to Asian stocks and just 10% exposure to the US market. The company highlighted this differentiation in February this year. The market may have taken a dim view of this, with fears over growth in countries like China slowing – and the impact it would have on Platinum's performance.
However, that's to cast doubt on Platinum's historical performance and suggest that the manager can no longer outperform. That could be a major mistake, and at the current share price, Platinum looks compelling value.
Foolish takeaway
Trading on a P/E ratio of 15.2x and paying a fully franked dividend of 6%, now could be the perfect time to add this renowned fund manager to your portfolio.
