Jovian Capital Corp. Wednesday reported a narrower loss for the second quarter as investment banking and trading revenues increased.

The net loss for the quarter ended September 30, was $1.4 million, or 17¢ a share, compared to a loss of $3.8 million, 47¢ a share, for the year earlier period.

Revenue for the quarter was $28.9 million, compared to $23.3 million a year ago. Jovian said the increase was largely the result of a $4.6 million increase in investment banking and principle trading revenue.

Assets under administration (AUA) were $7.2 billion at September 30, 2009, compared with $8.3 billion at the same time last year. Jovian noted that assets have shifted from transactional-based assets AUA toward recurring revenue-based assets.

Jovian’s assets under management (AUM) increased to $7 billion, compared to $5.9 billion at the end of September 2008.

The large increase in AUM was largely due to the $1.4 billion contributed by Jovian’s subsidiary BetaPro Management Inc. during the period. The growth in BetaPro’s AUM more than offset the $1.1 billion decrease in AUA, Jovian said.

Total expenses for the quarter were $30.3 million, compared to $27.4 million for the same period a year ago. Compensation and benefits for the quarter rose to $15 million, compared with $14.8 million for the year earlier period.

“New client acquisition and growth in the capital markets combined to increase both client assets and revenues this quarter,” said Philip Armstrong, CEO of Jovian, in a release. “As we pursue our mandate to grow each of our businesses, we have maintained control over expenses without compromising the service and value we deliver to our clients,” he added.

Jovian is a financial services holding company specializing in wealth and asset management. The Jovian group of companies include AlphaPro Management Inc., BetaPro Management Inc., Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc., Horizons Funds Inc., JovFunds Management Inc., JovInvestment Management Inc., Leon Frazer & Associates Inc., MGI Financial Inc., MGI Securities Inc., MGI Securities (USA) Inc. and T.E. Wealth.

IE