Aberdeen Asset Management suffers in market rout

Aberdeen Asset Management reported £12.7 billion of net outflows in the fourth quarter as investors continued to pull money from the firm's emerging market funds.

Europe’s third-largest publicly traded money manager by market value, which invests about a quarter of its assets in developing markets, has seen funds under management fall about 13 per cent to £283.7 billion in the 12 months through September, according to a statement on Monday.

The net outflows for the full year totaled £33.9 billion Aberdeen has lost more than £1 billion in market value this year as a rout in China’s stock market in the middle of the year spooked investors and led to further redemptions. The outflows, including by sovereign wealth funds, prompted Gilbert earlier this month to “rule out” a sale after a newspaper said he had approached potential buyers.

"The cyclical correction in Asian and emerging markets and resulting negative investor sentiment has, as expected, led to further flows from our equities business," said chief executive officer Martin Gilbert in the statement. "While we believe the current weakness may have some way to run, the long term fundamental attractions of investing in these high growth economies remain compelling for patient investors."

The Scottish money manager reported underlying profit before tax of £491.6 million, little changed from the year earlier period, while net revenue rose 5 per cent to £1.17 billion, the company said in the statement. The firm declared a final dividend of 12 pence apiece.

Bloomberg