do a buy back of course!! (allows those in the know to exit "stage left" in an orderly fashion!)
not much they can do now. this has and will continue to snowball. BB will deplete cash reserves that they cant replenish anywhere near as quickly when FUM was more than double, with the fixed cost base further eroding the delta to cash balances going fwd.
Avg FUM this year will be a pale shade of any former (less than half), having deteriorated significantly in only 3 months of the financial year, lowering mngt fees (to maintain as much current FUM as possible) and any new FUM (if any), volatile mkts destroying fund size...major conmtinuing snowball affect as has been the slide to date. Will take years to stabilise let alone repair this damage. Reputation impacts galore too.
scary. simply scary.
but yes, the BB - was the way to go!!
that wasted $$$ (continually buying at higher prices - catching a falling knife style) may have been better spent seeking out a strategic bolt on that will deflect the mkts attention from the current black hole & add diversity (safety) to earnings. Asset managers globally are "cheap" or simply at much lower fwd p/e's (typical during mkt routs)....opportunities abound. buy when mkts are fearful....pdl, ppt etc all are / have done highly accretive bolt ons, each providing stability to earnings and distracting the mkt from domestic underperformance while lifting both FUM & avg bps earned.
dont envy them at the next investor call!
(20min delay)