Abrdn swings to fourth-quarter inflows, shares jump

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Abrdn sparked on Tuesday, after the asset manager returned to quarterly inflows and struck an upbeat note going forward, including backing its oft-mocked, vowel-free name.

Updating on trading, the FTSE 250 firm said fourth-quarter net inflows were �1.2bn, compared to outflows of �5.7bn a year previously.

For the year as a whole, outflows were �1.1bn, a notable reduction on 2023's outflows of �17.6bn, while assets under management and administration rose 3% to 2024 to �511bn.

AUMA rose 1% in the fourth quarter, which Abrdn said reflected both the net inflows and "positive markets".

As at noon GMT, shares in the firm were up 3% at 146.48p.

Chief executive Jason Windsor said: "We made significant progress in 2024, exceeding our cost transformation targets and also laying the foundations for the new management team to achieve growth and efficiency as we enter 2025."

The former finance head has looked to cut costs and shed under-performing businesses since taking over last year from former incumbent Stephen Bird.

Looking to the current year, Windsor said the focus would be on returning to net inflow in its adviser business. A "significant" uplift in contribution from its investment platform Interactive Investor was also forecast, which would build on the "strong growth in customer numbers and AUMA achieved in 2024".

Windsor also defended Abrdn's widely-derided truncated name. The decision to drop Standard Life Aberdeen in favour of Abrdn in 2021 continues to attract considerable mockery, but Windsor told journalists: "The name is the name. We are continuing with it."

Last year April, chief investment officer Peter Branner claimed the asset manager was being subjected to "corporate bullying" because of its name.