Aberdeen sees £2.9 billion outflows as volatility jolts markets

[LONDON] Aberdeen Group reported another quarter of net outflows as volatility sparked by the US-Iran war rippled across global markets.

Clients pulled a net £2.9 billion (S$5 billion) in the first three months of the year, compared with £2.5 billion in the previous quarter, according to a statement on Wednesday (Apr 22). The firm’s asset management unit was hit by previously announced redemptions of £4 billion in lower-margin equities as well as “adverse market movements,” partly offset by net inflows into fixed income, Aberdeen said.

Total assets under management and administration dipped 1.5 per cent in the three months through end-March, but have since increased by 4.6 per cent to £573 billion as of Apr 17. Meanwhile, the firm’s retail platform Interactive Investor saw a 14 per cent rise in customers from a year earlier and a record quarter for both net inflows and daily average retail trades.

Chief executive officer Jason Windsor is increasingly pivoting Aberdeen towards wealth management, with Interactive Investor generating consistent inflows. The former Aviva executive, who took the helm in 2024, is also looking to revamp Aberdeen’s adviser unit as well as its asset management business, which has suffered years of client withdrawals.

The firm’s share price has rallied about 70 per cent from its low in April 2025, and is up 2.5 per cent since the beginning of the year.

Last month, Aberdeen named board member Jonathan Asquith as its temporary new chair while it continues to seek a permanent successor to Douglas Flint to oversee the group’s turnaround plan. Flint, a former chairman of HSBC Holdings, is set to join insurer Prudential. BLOOMBERG