28th Jul 2014 07:53
LONDON (Alliance News) - Aberdeen Asset Management PLC Monday said its assets under management fell by 0.6% in its third quarter, hit by a GBP4.0 billion withdrawal by a single client of low-margin assets under management from its Asia Pacific and global equities strategies.
Aberdeen didn't name the client.
In a statement, the FTSE 100 constituent said assets under management fell to GBP322.5 billion at the end of June from GBP324.5 billion at the end of March. Net outflows from the main business, recently acquired Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, and negative foreign exchange movements were in the main compensated for by positive investment performance in the quarter.
Despite the fall, Chief Executive Martin Gilbert said that investor sentiment towards Asia and emerging markets recovered somewhat during the quarter.
"While the improvement in our underlying equity new business flows has been masked by a significant withdrawal by a single client, it is rewarding to see growing interest in our broader product range," Gilbert said in a statement.
The asset manager said that the majority of outflows during the quarter were from lower-margin products with both Aberdeen and Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, which it last year agreed to buy from Lloyds Banking Group PLC. The acquisition saw GBP3.3 billion in net outflows during the quarter, due to "anticipated outflows from certain elements" of the acquired business, together with seasonal outflows from low margin liquidity funds.
That said, SWIP's property capability attracted GBP200.0 million of net inflows during the quarter. Aberdeen also said that it has reached an agreement with an external client to reorganise the mix of their portfolios, a move that will bring "some revenue benefit" from early in the next financial year without changing assets under management.
"We completed the acquisition of SWIP at the beginning of the quarter, and we are pleased with the progress of the integration so far, in terms of both timing and the planned synergies," Gilbert said.
Aberdeen shares were Monday quoted down 3.1% at 445.00 pence, the biggest fallers in the FTSE 100.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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