Aberdeen sees client cash bounce back
Aberdeen Asset Management’s clients added £1.48bn of new money to its range of funds in first two months of the year, as investors recovered their appetite for risk and returned to buying equity products.
In a trading update on Monday, Aberdeen said its assets under management rose to £184.4bn pounds at end-February, up from £173.9bn at end-December as stock and bond markets rallied.
The company, which recently joined London’s blue chip FTSE 100 index, said demand for global emerging market, global and Asia-Pacific equity had driven the net inflows, helping it to beat a forecast of 400 million pounds from analyst Singer Capital Markets.
Markets have rebounded strongly in 2012, aided by central banks pumping billions of cheap cash into the financial system and amid hopes the Euro zone debt crisis has turned a corner.
Aberdeen saw clients pull £2.8bn in the final three months of last year, the fund manager said in January, largely because of withdrawals from lower margin assets such as fixed income.
“These figures reflect the continuing theme of flows into higher margin products across the business. Performance remains strong and our disciplined investment approach means we are well placed to continue to deliver for our investors,” Martin Gilbert, Aberdeen’s chief executive, said in the statement.
Aberdeen also said the inflows into its higher margin products would add £20m in annual revenues.