InvestmentsJul 25 2016

Aberdeen suffers £9bn of net outflows

twitter-iconfacebook-iconlinkedin-iconmail-iconprint-icon
Search supported by
Aberdeen suffers £9bn of net outflows

Aberdeen Asset Management has suffered another significant quarter of net outflows seeing £8.9bn leave its funds in the three months to June 30.

However, despite the outflows, strong market performance and the benefits of currency movements saw the firm’s total assets under management rise back above the £300bn mark.

The firm’s Q3 outflow-period, which included the June 23 UK-EU referendum vote and build-up, were higher than the £7.7bn seen in the first three months of 2016 and back on par with the last three months of 2015.

They were spread across its business range, including £1.5bn from its property business, which includes the UK commercial property fund subjected to several attempts to stem flows via price moves, temporary trading suspensions and price dilutions.

Aberseen also saw £2.9bn leave its equities business and £1.7bn from its multi-asset arm.

However, it boosted AUM through a combination of investment returns and currency movements. The emerging market-focused fund group saw total AUM rise from £293bn at the end of March to £301bn by June 30.

Its equities business was a prime beneficiary of a weakening sterling in the build-up to June 23 and the sharp decline in the week after the vote. Aberdeen saw a £5.1bn positive currency movement in its now £83bn equities arm, adding to a £2.7bn market return.

Overall, only its property and alternatives business did not seen positive AUM growth over the three month period.

Aberdeen chief executive Martin Gilbert said: “Currency, exposure to a broad mix of assets and good investment performance outweighed the net outflows the business experienced this quarter.

“We remain well placed to take advantage, on behalf of our clients, of any weakness and will continue to focus on fundamentals rather than be distracted by market noise.”