Pinnacle whipsaws on first half update

The news: Shares in Pinnacle Investments have whipsawed after the investment manager said it netted more than $12 million in performance fees in the first half of FY24 and flagged "cautious optimism" for the second in a trading update.

The numbers: Pinnacle shares jumped almost 7% in early trading before retreating to 0.1% below Thursday's open to $9.90. Of a possible 18 strategies across nine affiliates, 13 crystallised in the first half, amassing $41.9 million in performance fees, or $12.3 million after tax for Pinnacle. In the same half in 2022, it netted $0.9 million in fees. For the rest of FY24 there are 25 strategies that could deliver performance fees for the group, although nine are currently below their high watermark.

The context: Pinnacle will deliver its half-year results on February 2, and the group expects higher than average funds under management to take advantage of market conditions. It noted overall financial performance would be broadly offset by the writedown of its OpenInvest wealth platform, lower principal investment returns and higher employee costs.

What they said: "We believe we enter the second half with grounds for cautious optimism, fully resourced with the capability to take advantage of any improvement in market conditions," Pinnacle said in a statement.