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Polar Capital Holdings PLC on Friday said it will start a new share buyback programme next week, as assets under management rose in the last three months of 2025 despite a ‘challenging backdrop for active equity managers’. London-based Polar Capital is a specialist active asset manager. It manages several London-listed investment trusts, including Polar Capital Technology Trust PLC, a FTSE 100 index constituent, and Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust PLC, a FTSE 250 constituent. Total assets under management on December 31, the end of Polar Capital’s financial third quarter, were £28.39 billion, up 6.3% from £26.70 billion on October 1. They were up 33% from £21.41 billion on April 1. The increase in AuM during the third quarter was thanks to £1.72 billion in positive market performance. Net flows were positive by £149 million, as £264 million in positive flows into open-ended funds and segregated mandates offset £115 million in net outflows from investment trusts. A return of capital to shareholders in Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust in November detracted from December AuM by £116 million. Total performance fee profits net of staff allocations in the nine months to December 31 were £16.0 million, up from £7.9 million in the 12 months to March 31, 2025. Chief Executive Iain Evans said the higher performance fee profits prompted the board decision to launch a new £15.0 million share buyback. The buyback will be managed by Deutsche Bank AG. It will run from Monday next week and will be completed by July 19. All the repurchased shares will be cancelled. Polar Capital shares were up 5.6% to 623.28 pence on Friday morning in London. The AIM listing has a £633.1 million market capitalisation. ‘2025 remained a challenging backdrop for active equity managers, with investor outflows continuing at elevated levels,’ Evans commented. ‘Although higher rates, volatility and broader dispersion would typically favour high-conviction active strategies, market leadership remained unusually concentrated for much of the year, making consistent outperformance difficult for many diversified approaches.’ Looking ahead, he said: ‘Encouragingly, client engagement has improved, and the new business pipeline is strengthening. While visibility on the timing and scale of inflows is limited, our priority for 2026 is to convert gross demand into durable net inflows through consistent investment performance, excellent client service and disciplined commercial execution.’ Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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