Gartmore suffers £2bn net outflow in 2010

Gartmore has suffered almost £2bn of net outflows so far in 2010 as the firm continues to struggle following suspension and subsequent resignation of star manager Guillaume Rambourg.

The group, which had £20.3bn of assets under management at 31 July, has also received £223m of redemption notices due on 1 September, the first available dealing day open to investors to redeem following the announcement of Rambourg's resignation last month.

Investors stripped out £1.65bn from the group's funds over the first six months of the year, while net outflows hit £238m in July and £67m on 2 August.

Rambourg, who worked closely with Roger Guy, was demoted to senior investment analyst after an internal investigation into directing trades in March. He continues to face an FSA probe into his conduct.

Despite the troubles, the group posted a 36% rise in net revenue over the first six months of the year, to £113.2m.

"The financial results for the first six months of 2010 showed a satisfactory improvement with EBITDA increasing by 146% as compared to the same period last year and a similar improvement in underlying cash EPS," Gartmore CEO Jeffrey Meyer says.

"However, our net sales were below expectations primarily due to the suspension and subsequent resignation of one of our portfolio managers.

"We are now focused on regaining momentum and believe we are attractively positioned to benefit from the continuing demand for absolute return products and the general growth potential of our UK retail business."