Waddell & Reed 1Q Profit Down 45% to $15.5 Million

Waddell & Reed reported first quarter profits of $15.5 million, down 45.2% from $28.3 million in the first quarter of 2008.

“Continued market turmoil has challenged investors throughout most of the quarter. Against this backdrop, many investors have chosen to invest with managers who have, over time, proven to consistently deliver strong relative performance,” said Hank Herrmann, chief executive officer of Waddell & Reed.

“Our powerful distribution network capitalized upon our strong relative results, delivering inflows despite a very challenging environment,” Herrmann added. “We believe our annualized organic growth rate of over 8% will emerge among the best in class in our peer group of publicly traded asset managers.”