FTSE Reshuffle: Abrdn head for trap-door from the FTSE 100

FUND MANAGER Abrdn is set to exit the FTSE 100 this week as part of a wider FTSE reshuffle.

Shares in the asset manager have fallen just shy of 40 per cent since the turn of the year, with analysts blaming global uncertainty and economic troubles.

“Huge geopolitical uncertainty, sky high inflation and worries about economic growth have been challenging for the asset management sector, and Abrdn’s weaker performance in this environment looks set to propel it out of the big league,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The FTSE indices will be reshuffled based on closing prices on Tuesday and promotions and relegations will come into effect in the middle of September.

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group could well step into the FTSE 100 after a show of resilience in the year so far, though analysts warn that belt tightening over the winter could well see any spell in London’s top flight be short-lived.

HomeServe will move into the top level index as a replacement for Avast, which has been picked up by US giant NortonLifeLock. HomeServe will in turn be removed from the index once its own takeover by private equity is completed.

Struggling furniture retailer Made.com is set to be booted from the FTSE All Share index after a miserable year. It listed in June of last year but has since lost 96 per cent of its value amid ongoing concerns about the economic environment.

The firm has been forced to cut back profit expectations not once but thrice and is looking at its headcount.
Howdens Joiney may also slip out of the FTSE’s top index as Brits put off renovation projects thanks to the rising cost of living. “The red-hot housing market is also seeing tentative signs of cooling off with rates set to continue to rise amid painful inflation,” Streeter said.