Aberdeen assets fall as clients withdraw funds

Aberdeen Asset Management today reported a fall in funds under administration as clients pulled their money out of Asia Pacific and global equities.

However, the firm insisted it remained confident of growing its sales and profits organically following its £550 million acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (Swip).

Assets under management at the group fell to £322.5 billion by the end of June, down from £324.5bn at the end of March, as Swip was hit by £3.3bn of net outflows.

Aberdeen’s own funds saw £5.5bn of outflows as a single client withdraw about £4bn from its Asia Pacific and global equities strategies.

Nevertheless, chief executive Martin Gilbert said investors sentiment towards Asia and emerging markets had shown signs of recovery during the third quarter.

He added: “While we remain cautious on market sentiment in the short term, we remain confident that we can continue to build the group’s revenue and profit through further organic growth.”