Aberdeen inflows up on equity sales
FUND firm Aberdeen Asset Management said yesterday that inflows accelerated over the summer, with clients favouring equity funds despite volatile markets which have made investors cautious.
The firm reported a net £621m of new inflows during July and August, above the £337m in the previous three months.
The firm’s equity and money markets funds saw net inflows, while its bond funds and alternative portfolios – which include higher-margin funds of hedge funds and multi-asset funds – saw clients exit.
The numbers appear to counter the wider sector short-term trend, with flows statistics for July from Lipper FMI showing sustained strength in sales of bond funds while new money invested in equity products slumped.
Combined with buoyant markets, the inflows lifted Aberdeen’s assets under management – on which fund firms earn fees – 2.6 per cent to £168.8bn. Almost 70 per cent of that is evenly split between equities and fixed-income products, with alternatives and property at about 17 and 13 per cent respectively.
“We remain firmly focussed on organic growth, generating cash and strengthening our balance sheet further,” said chief executive Martin Gilbert