Magellan names new chairman amid big drop in profit

Also, Robert Fraser is retiring from the board and veteran ASX board director Deborah Page will join it in October.

Mr Formica said he was honoured to take up the position and chairman and was deeply motivated to return Magellan to a growth footing.

The fund manager has been under pressure following the flagging performance of its flagship global equities fund, leading to outflows.

Its star chairman and chief investment officer and co-founder, Hamish Douglass, abruptly left the ASX200 company in February 2022.

Magellan on Friday announced its fund under management had dropped to $39.7 billion as of June 30, compared to $61.3 billion a year ago.

Magellan said it made an adjusted net profit after tax of $174.3 million for the 12 months to June 30, down from $401 million from the prior year.

Its management and performance fee revenue dropped from $600.1 million to $339.2 million, a result of the reduction in funds under management.

"We have made a solid start to implementing our five-year strategy and have laid a foundation that can return us to growth in time," CEO David George said.

Mr George said the biggest priority was driving investment returns to result in positive inflows, and he noted that the Magellan Global Fund returned over 20 per cent over the 12 months to June 30.

He said that an October restructure of the investment team's organisational structure had succeeded in improving collaboration and information flow between portfolio managers.

"Investment ideas are being brought forward earlier and priorities more efficiently," he said.

As a result Mr George is stepping down from his additional role as Magellan's chief investment officer, in what the board described as a return to its former "business as usual" structure. Deputy chief investment officer Gerald Stack is taking over as head of investments, effective Friday.

In early trading Magellan shares were up 9.6 per cent to $10.08, while the overall market was down slightly.