MONTREAL, May 8, 2024 /CNW/ - Fiera Capital Corporation (TSX:FSZ) ("Fiera Capital" or the "Company"), a leading independent asset management firm, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. Financial references are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. (in $ thousands except where otherwise indicated) Q1   Q4   Q1   2024 2023 2023 End of period AUM (in $ billions) 165.2 161.7 164.7 Average AUM (in $ billions) 164.8 158.4 163.9 IFRS Financial Measures Total revenues 168,115 210,972 157,091 Base management fees 151,537 147,371 147,428 Net earnings (loss) 1 7,645 39,418 (2,517) Non-IFRS Financial Measures Adjusted EBITDA 2 45,395 77,621 38,823 Adjusted EBITDA margin 2 27.0 % 36.8 % 24.7 % Adjusted net earnings 1,2 26,089 50,163 23,544 LTM Free Cash Flow 2 71,847 89,212 67,891 "Following a strong close to 2023, we are pleased to start 2024 with overall AUM growth of $3.5 billion during the first quarter," said Jean-Guy Desjardins, Chairman of the Board and Global Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to drive forward with our regional distribution strategy, which has begun to deliver positive organic growth for some of our public equity and private market strategies. Amidst ongoing economic uncertainties, we continue to deliver innovative investment solutions and capitalize on promising new prospects in every region we serve, positioning us for continued growth and success."  "Equity markets continued their strong performance in the first quarter of 2024 which, combined with growth in base management fees in Private Markets, resulted in a good year-over-year increase in total revenues. This, along with our continued prudent approach to cost management, enabled us to generate an adjusted EBITDA margin of 27%, a marked improvement from the same period last year." said Lucas Pontillo, Executive Director and Global Chief Financial Officer. "I am pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has approved a dividend of 21.5 cents per share, payable on June 20, 2024."    Assets Under Management (in $ millions, unless otherwise indicated) By Platform December 31, 2023 New Lost Net Contributions Net Organic Growth3 Market and Other4 March 31, 2024 Public Markets, excluding AUM sub-advised by PineStone 97,984 718 (182) (1,053) (517) 1,532 98,999 Public Markets AUM sub-advised by PineStone 45,231 84 (2,741) (147) (2,804) 4,882 47,309 Public Markets - Total 143,215 802 (2,923) (1,200) (3,321) 6,414 146,308 Private Markets 18,478 602 (32) (52) 518 (139) 18,857 Total 161,693 1,404 (2,955) (1,252) (2,803) 6,275 165,165   By Distribution Channel December 31, 2023 New Lost Net Contributions Net OrganicGrowth3 Market and Other4 March 31, 2024 Institutional 88,605 1,025 (2,731) (1,077) (2,783) 2,176 87,998 Financial Intermediaries 59,084 253 (72) (51) 130 3,646 62,860 Private Wealth 14,004 126 (152) (124) (150) 453 14,307 Total 161,693 1,404 (2,955) (1,252) (2,803) 6,275 165,165 AUM increased by $3.5 billion or 2.2% compared to December 31, 2023 reflecting a favourable market impact of $6.4 billion, primarily from equity mandates, partly offset by negative net organic growth of $2.8 billion. Negative net organic growth included $3.3 billion in Public Markets, partly offset by positive net organic growth in Private Markets of $0.5 billion, primarily from new mandates. Negative net organic growth included $2.8 billion of outflows connected to AUM sub-advised by PineStone, of which, to our knowledge, $2.7 billion related to AUM that transferred directly to PineStone. In fiscal 2023, a large Financial Intermediary client withdrew $4.9 billion of AUM, of which approximately $3.5 billion was transferred to PineStone. There were no transfers to PineStone related to this client in the current quarter. As previously announced, they are expected to redirect approximately $3 billion of AUM by the end of the second quarter, as part of their ongoing transfer of assets to PineStone. Excluding this, management expects the AUM reduction from lost mandates transferring directly to PineStone to be in the range of $3 to $4 billion this year. First Quarter Financial Highlights Revenue increased by $11.0 million, or 7.0% compared to Q1 2023. The increase was primarily due to higher share of earnings in joint ventures and associates, higher base management fees in Private Markets, and higher other revenues. These increases were partly offset by lower commitment and transaction fees and performance fees in Private Markets. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $6.6 million, or 17.0% compared to Q1 2023, primarily due to higher share of earnings in joint ventures and associates, base management fees, and other revenues, partly offset by higher variable compensation. Adjusted net earnings increased by $2.6 million, or 11.1% compared to Q1 2023, primarily due to higher revenues, partly offset by higher ...