At the image of its British counterparts, Aberdeen did not escape the investors’ risk aversion in March, against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East: “We continued to implement our strategy in the first quarter, despite a geopolitical and stock market uncertainty,” said Jason Windsor, CEO.
In a press release published on April 22, the British asset manager revealed assets under management and administration of £547.7 billion at the end of March 2026, compared to £556 billion at the end of 2025.
This decline in assets under management was driven by unfavorable market movements due to the geopolitical context (£4.3 billion) and a net outflow for asset management activities amounting to £2.9 billion. The net outflows were concentrated in the Institutional & Retail Wealth division with £4.6 billion in withdrawals.
Significant flows expected
Low-margin equities incurred the most losses with £4 billion in asset losses, while fixed-income securities and real estate assets received £300 million and £100 million respectively in net subscriptions.
On the other hand, the Scottish-based management company is optimistic about the flows in the second quarter with the acquisition of two new mandates. The first is an advisory mandate worth around £1.2 billion in real assets, and the second is focused on credit for £1 billion.
Aberdeen also expects significant flows towards its equity fund linked to emerging markets throughout the year. However, assets under management for the segment decreased from £390.4 billion to £383.4 billion in the first quarter.
A new CEO
In other divisions, the asset manager is pleased with the performance of its online investment platform Interactive investor. The platform accumulated £3 billion while increasing its total number of clients by 14% year-on-year.
For its advisory business, the company reported net outflows of £600 million. Last March, the appointment of Rich Denning as CEO of the division was announced. With his tenure starting in May, he will be responsible for improving segment growth and service. To achieve this, the company continues to bring service teams in-house to streamline the customer experience.
In its statement, Aberdeen is “firmly committed” to achieving its goals for the 2026 fiscal year. The management firm still aims for an adjusted operating profit of at least £300 million and a net capital generation of approximately £300 million.
After exceeding the targets of its transformation plan launched in early 2024, the Scottish asset manager is positive about the momentum of the Interactive investor platform and “favorable structural trends in the British wealth management market.” Aberdeen estimates that its assets under management and administration now amount to £573 billion at the close of the market on April 17. This significant increase can be attributed to a recovery in financial markets.
Bastien Boname
