Aberdeen Asset Management plc Reports £331bn In Managed Assets

Aberdeen Asset Management (LON: ADN) has given a cautions outlook despite boost to assets under management.

Mark Stones

Mark Stones (TMFMumbojumbones) joined The Motley Fool in 2014 and initially worked as a writer for Fool.co.uk, before joining the Fool’s analyst programme. Mark earned a BA in English from Loughborough University. Although he spends more time reading annual reports than Russian literature these days, he still appreciates a novelist’s antipathy toward the accepted view, which is a useful attitude when trying to sniff out hidden gems on the stock market. His approach to investing has been largely influenced by the principles of Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch. He also takes a special interest in the work of healthcare companies. Outside of investing, Mark plays guitar, enjoys good writing and has a guilty passion for combat sports.

Published 29 September, 2014 10:50 am BST

The content of this article was relevant at the time of publishing. Circumstances change continuously and caution should therefore be exercised when relying upon any content contained within this article.

Shares of Aberdeen Asset Management (LSE: ADN) lifted 2% to 406p in early trade after the emerging markets specialist announced outflows of its funds have slowed in the two months to 31 August. Net outflows reduced to £1.7bn against £8.8bn in the previous quarter.

Despite the accounts still showing a net outflow, this was weighted towards lower margin products, with more inflows being won into higher margin funds. The effect on revenue, therefore, was more positive than in recent quarters.

The integration of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership continues to progress according to expectations. Total assets under management, including the SWIP business, increased 3% to £331bn.

Market volatility has renewed in September after a period of calm, and Aberdeen said that its increased scale since the acquisition of SWIP “provides a solid foundation to weather what are likely to remain volatile markets”.

“Our equity capabilities are recovering, both in terms of performance and flows following a tough 2013. It’s also encouraging that our marketing focus on non-equity products is gaining traction, particularly in terms of property and emerging market debt,” the FTSE 100 member added.

Prior to today, analysts were expecting earnings per share to increase 11% to 31p and rally to 35p the year after. The former projection supports a near-term P/E of 13.

Of course, whether those ratings, today’s results and the wider prospects for the asset management industry combine to make the shares a ‘buy’ is something only you can decide.