Listed emerging markets-focused Ashmore Asset Management today released its results for the year ending 30 June 2021 and while there was plenty of points to cheer, some brokers viewed the numbers more sceptically.

The firm’s AUM is up 13 percent to $94.4 billion on a year-on-year basis and it also improved its profits significantly in the same time frame, up to £282.2 million from £221.5 million.

However, both the firm’s EBITDA and net revenues were down which Ashmore attributed to lower fee income offset by higher fee performance. Mark Crouch, analyst at investment platform eToro said the ‘the ongoing poor performance of emerging markets (EM) cannot be discounted. The profit growth reflects in the fact that a year ago its bottom line was hit hard by the onset of the coronavirus crisis’.

Mr Crouch went on to say that that as Ashmore focuses on emerging markets, the region’s poor response to Covid compared to developed markets for solutions such as vaccines has made the firm’s jurisdictions a ‘tricky area in the past year to say the least’.

However, he noted that the picture is changing for emerging markets, noting that vaccines are beginning to roll out across some of major economies such as Brazil, South Africa and India, which Mr Crouch believes should say the performance of those markets turn around.

“It says there are many opportunities as an active manager in a sector with undervalued but promising companies to consider. But whether or not their long-term underperformance compared to developed markets in the last decade materialises remains to be seen,” Mr Crouch concluded. Given the standout performances of some emerging market funds last year such as Aubrey’s Global Emerging Markets Fund suggests that the oft out of favour asset class can really produce results if managed by talented managers.