The ASX stock GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG) has been a great performer. Since the start of 2024, the GQG share price has gone up by 32%. I'm going to tell you why I still think it's a buy.
This business is a fund manager, one of the largest on the ASX. It's also one of the few to be receiving strong net inflows from investors allocating more money to GQG.
The amount of funds under management (FUM) GQG manages plays an important part in the company's profitability. GQG hardly charges performance fees across its different funds, so growth in FUM can directly lead to growth in revenue and profit.
In fact, when FUM rises, profit can rise faster than revenue for a fund manager. It doesn't take 10% more employees or a 10% bigger office to manage 10% more funds. In the recently reported FY23 result, net revenue rose 18.5% to US$517.6 million, and diluted earnings per share (EPS) grew 19% to US 9.55 cents.
Positive ongoing FUM growth
The average FUM for FY23 was US$101.9 billion and it finished December 2023 with FUM of US$120.6 billion.
The ASX stock recently revealed its February 2024 FUM, which showed it had reached US$137.5 billion. In other words, FUM has grown by 14% in 2024 to date and it's 35% higher than the average FUM of FY23.
Part of the growth has been due to strong performance by the investment funds. Net inflows continue to be strong. In the first two months of FY24, it experienced net inflows of US$3 billion. I think there's a good likelihood that the appealing inflows can continue.
Of course, a large fall of the stock market could hurt the ASX stock's FUM in the short term, but I think that risk is reflected in the low price/earnings (P/E) ratio. It's valued at around 15 times FY23's earnings, and remember the FUM has grown significantly since then.
Private capital business can boost the ASX stock
The core business is going strong, and GQG recently announced it has launched GQG Private Capital Solutions, which it described as its "first foray" into private markets.
It bought minority interests in the fund managers of Avante Capital Partners, Proterra Investment Partners and Cordillera Investment Partners for US$71.25 million.
GQG is going to offer a broad range of financing and strategic solutions to mid-market private capital asset management outfits.
This new business will operate independently from GQG's traditional global equities business but in synergy with its global distribution network.
I think this is an appealing diversification of earnings, and opens up more growth for GQG.
Foolish takeaway
According to the projection on Commsec, GQG is forecast to pay a dividend yield of more than 8% in FY24. I think this is a very good yield, and we can benefit from pleasing cash returns while holding for the longer term and hopefully seeing more growth.
I think this ASX stock is one of several with a very promising future.
