Mister market seems to be souring on asset managers, at least of late, as things like Fed fears, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and inflation drive market volatility in 2022. Yet the longer-term view is rosier.

Marc O. Mayer Manning & Napier, Inc. Chairman, CEO

As of market close yesterday, out of 17 publicly traded U.S. mutual fund firms tracked by MFWire, only only two have seen their share prices rise since the beginning of 2022. On the flip side, 11 have suffered bigger share price drops (proportionately) than the S&P 500 (which is down 7.97 percent year-to-date). The average market-cap-to-AUM ratio those firms is now 1.35 percent, and the median is 1.12 percent.

The picture was similar last month, when only five of those publicly traded fund firms' shares rose. On the flip side, eight fund firms' shares fell faster in February 2022 than the S&P (which fell 3.14 percent).

Looking back a bit further, the picture improves somewhat. 10 of those publicly traded fund firms saw their share prices rise in the 12 months ending yesterday, and seven saw their share prices rise faster than the S&P (which climbed 13.34 percent).

In 2021, the average share price increase for those 17 fund firms was 33.73 percent, and the median increase was 34.91 percent, compared to just 26.89 percent for the S&P. 14 of those fund firms share prices outpaced the S&P last year.

And publicly traded fund firms seem to have weathered the pandemic better than the markets overall. All 17 of those publicly traded fund firms have seen their share prices rise by more than 13 percent each since the end of 2019, and 10 of them have outpaced the S&P (which is up 35.77 percent). The average fund firm share price increase since the end of 2019 is 79.93 percent, and the median is 47.38 percent.

Manning & Napier (MN) is up 381.44 percent since December 31, 2019 (including a 34.03-percent 2021 gain), down 3.25 percent YTD, up 1.59 percent in February 2022, and down 3.37 percent in the first two days of March 2022. With AUM (as of December 31, 2020) of $22.5 billion), its $148.463-million market cap translates into about 0.7 percent of its AUM.

U.S. Global Investors (GROW) is up 289.78 percent since 12/31/2019 (including an 18.4-percent 2021 drop), up 21.64 percent YTD, up 4.27 percent in February 2022, and down 4.98 percent in the last two days. With average AUM in Q4 2021 of $4.1 billion, its $80.182-million marpet cap translates into about 2 percent of its AUM.

Virtus (VRTS) is up 106.23 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 38.98-percent 2021 gain), down 18.7 percent YTD, down 8.05 percent in February 2022, and down 0.22 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of December 31, 2021) of $187.186 billion, its $1.802-billion market cap translates into about 1 percent of its AUM.

AllianceBernstein (AB) is up 81.34 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 56.27-percent 2021 gain), down 5.64 percent YTD, down 1.77 percent in February 2022, and down 0.07 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $779 billion, its $4.448-billion market cap translates into about 0.6 percent of its AUM.

Diamond Hill (DHIL) is up about 77.34 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 44.89-percent 2021 gain), up 6.52 percent YTD, up 3.82 percent in February 2022, and up 6.72 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $31 billion, its $666.454-million market cap translates into about 2.1 percent of its AUM.

Victory (VCTR) is up about 66.54 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 49.71-percent 2021 gain), down 7.09 percent YTD, up 1.53 percent in February 2022, and up 2.32 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $183.7 billion, its $2.311-billion market cap translates into about 1.3 percent of its AUM.

Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) is up about 61.41 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 61.8-percent 2021 gain), down 17.23 percent YTD, down 5.36 percent in February 2022, and down 1.6 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $813.8 billion, its $5.416-billion market cap translates into about 0.7 percent of its AUM.

BlackRock (BLK) is up about 53.54 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 29.39-percent 2021 gain), down 19.39 percent YTD, down 9.61 percent in February 2022, and down 0.79 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $10.010143 trillion, its $112.213-billion market cap translates into about 1.1 percent of its AUM.

Artisan Partners (APAM) is up about 47.38 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 2.75-percent 2021 gain), down 16.12 percent YTD, down 7.95 percent in February 2022, and up 0.47 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $174.754 billion, its $2.547-billion market cap translates into about 1.5 percent of its AUM.

Cohen & Steers (CNS) is up about 39.82 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 29.01-percent 2021 gain), down 12.2 percent YTD, down 2.72 percent in February 2022, and down 0.05 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $106.6 billion, its $3.953-billion market cap translates into about 3.7 percent of its AUM.

Gamco (GBL) is up about 30.86 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 51.67-percent 2021 gain), down 11.21 percent YTD, down 4.4 percent in February 2022, and up 3.07 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $34.982 billion, its $599-million market cap translates into about 1.7 percent of its AUM.

T. Rowe Price (TROW) is up about 25.66 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 34.91-percent 2021 gain), down 27.29 percent YTD, down 6.39 percent in February 2022, and down 1.09 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $1.69 trillion, its $32.613-billion market cap translates into about 1.9 percent of its AUM.

Invesco (IVZ) is up about 25.63 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 35.61-percent 2021 gain), down 10.11 percent YTD, down 5.56 percent in February 2022, and down 3.3 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2019) of $1.6109 trillion, its $9.464-billion market cap translates into about 0.6 percent of its AUM.

Franklin Resources (dba Franklin Templeton) (BEN) is up about 23.9 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 38.91 percent 2021 gain), down 12.06 percent YTD, down 7.01 percent in February 2022, and down 0.94 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/201) of $1.5781 trillion, its $14.788-billion market cap translates into about 0.9 percent of its AUM.

WisdomTree (WETF) is up about 19.87 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 16.67-percent 2021 gain), down 9.85 percent YTD, up 0.9 percent in February 2022, and down 2.49 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $77.5 billion, its $804.757-million market cap translates into about 1 percent of its AUM.

Hennessy (HNNA) is up about 14.12 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 32.45-percent 2021 gain), down 4.08 percent YTD, down 1.84 percent in February 2022, and down 0.1 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $4.073 billion, its $75.529-million market cap translates into about 1.9 percent of its AUM.

And Federated Hermes (FHI) is up about 13.94 percent since 12/31/2019 (including a 34.69-percent 2021 gain), down 12.07 percent YTD, down 0.52 percent in February 2022, and up 0.31 percent in the last two days. With AUM (as of 12/31/2021) of $668.9 billion, its $3.015-billion market cap translates into about 0.5 percent of its AUM. 

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