Lazard's (LAZ) May AUM Declines 4.5% On Lower Equity Assets

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE:LAZ) recorded around 4.5% decline in preliminary assets under management (AUM) as of May 31, 2019, from the prior month. Total AUM came in at $228.7 billion, down from the April 2019 figure of $239.6 billion.

May AUM displayed net outflows of $1.4 billion and unfavorable foreign exchange impact of $0.9 billion. Market depreciation of $8.7 billion was another headwind.

Lazard’s equity AUM at the end of May decreased 5.6% from the prior month to $188.1 billion. However, other assets rose slightly to $5.2 billion. Further, fixed income AUM jumped marginally on a sequential basis to $35.3 billion.

Our Viewpoint

Lazard is well positioned to grow organically, driven by strength in its Financial Advisory and Asset Management segments. However, absence of continued growth in equity markets and stringent regulations remain headwinds.

The stock has lost 8.3% in the past six months against 13.8% growth recorded by the industry.

Lazard currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Competitive Landscape

Among other investment managers, Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) reported preliminary AUM of $62.9 billion as of May 31, 2019, down marginally from the prior-month level of $63.1 billion. Market appreciation of $264 million was more than offset by net outflows of $228 million and distributions of $207 million.

Invesco (NYSE:IVZ) also announced its AUM for May. The company’s preliminary month-end AUM of $1,159.3 billion increased 18.9% from the prior month.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) announced preliminary AUM by its subsidiaries of $695 billion for May. Results display a 3.5% decline from the $720.5 billion recorded as of Apr 30, 2019. Market declines and modest outflows led to this downside. Further, the figure dipped 5.2% year over year.

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