| Platinum Asset Management | |
| Type: | Public |
| Traded As: | S&P/ASX 300 component[1] |
| Industry: | Investment management |
| Products: | Mutual Fund Hedge fund Listed investment company UCITS |
| Founders: | Kerr Neilson Andrew Clifford Elizabeth Norman Toby Harrop |
| Hq Location City: | 7 Macquarie Place, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Hq Location Country: | Australia |
| Key People: | Andrew Clifford (CEO) |
| Revenue: | (FY 2022) |
| Net Income: | (FY 2022) |
| Aum: | (Q3 2022) |
| Assets: | (FY 2022) |
| Equity: | (FY 2022) |
| Num Employees: | 110 (Q2 2021) |
| Footnotes: | [2] [3] |
Platinum Asset Management is an Australian asset management company. It has been publicly traded on the Australian Securities Exchange since 2007.[4] It is a constituent member of the S&P/ASX 300 index. In 2015, it was ranked as the largest hedge fund group in Australia as well as the second largest in Asia-Pacific.[5]
It has two investment companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange which are Platinum Capital Limited and Platinum Asia Investments Limited . In addition it has three listed funds which are Platinum International Fund, Platinum Asia Fund and Platinum Global Transition Fund (ASX: PGTX).[6]
In 1994, Platinum Asset Management was founded by Kerr Neilson and several others with the financial backing of George Soros.[7] It was founded as a specialist company in international equities.
The success of the company was attributed to the ability to transcend short-term market investment and focus on long-term returns. Its strongest performance came between 2000 and 2002.[8]
In 2007, Platinum Asset Management went public and was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker: 'PTM'.
Poor results during the 2012 financial year resulted in a 16 per cent fall in net profit, mainly due to a 14 per cent reduction in investment income. As a result, Neilsen agreed to forego a performance bonus, an increase in his base salary, and neither granted himself nor exercised options.[9]
In 2018, Neilson stepped down as chief executive officer and was replaced by Andrew Clifford who was another co-founder of the company.[10] In November 2022, Neilson resigned from his position at the company's board of directors although he still remained the company's largest shareholder.[11]
In February 2023, Neilson called for Clifford to resign citing the firm's poor performance and how Clifford shouldn't hold the role of both CEO and CIO simultaneously.[12] In August that year, the board of directors announced that Clifford would step down from his role as CEO once a successor was found although he would remain as CIO.[13]
On 8 September 2023. shares of Platinum Asset Management hit a record low of A$1.335 after more than A$900 million was pulled from its funds in August. According to a report by Barrenjoey Capital Partners, the company was in "severe organic decay".[14]