One of the hardest hit shares in the aftermath of Britain's vote to leave the European Union was BT Investment Management Ltd (ASX: BTT). Its share price has declined by 23% since the vote due to its exposure to the financial markets in the United Kingdom.
Because earlier this year BTIM UK produced 60% of the company's interim cash profit of $88.6 million, there were fears these cash profits would be negatively impacted if the Brexit triggered a large withdrawal of funds under management from its UK-based JO Hambro business.
Well today the much-anticipated quarterly update of BTIM's funds under management was released to the market and it was surprisingly positive.
Instead of reporting a reduction as many had expected, BTIM actually reported an increase in funds under management of $2.5 billion to a total of $79.7 billion. The total funds under management would have been more, but for the fact that the British pound depreciated significantly against the Australian dollar during the period. These currency headwinds decreased the value of funds under management by $1.5 billion according to management.
As a result of the news BTIM's share price has edged higher by almost 3%. It's a similar story for fellow UK-exposed fund manager Henderson Group plc (ASX: HGG). Its shares have been one of the strongest performers on the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) today with a rise of just under 5% at one stage.
So is it time to invest in BTIM?
Considering the huge decline in its share price and the strong performance of its funds despite the Brexit vote, I believe there could be an opportunity for investment here. But personally I would suggest restricting it to being only a small part of your portfolio as there are still a great number of potential downside risks ahead, including further depreciation of the pound and a UK recession.
