Adrienne KlasaFTSE 100 fund manager Abrdn swung to a first-half loss in the first six months of the year as the global downturn in markets and geopolitical uncertainty dragged down investment performance and dented investor confidence.
“Looking forward into the second half, we will see revenue tailwinds from a full six months’ contribution from ii and from performance fees,” said chief executive Stephen Bird. “The strategy we have set out is sound, and we are delivering against it...the current market turbulence reinforces this logic.”
This drop was driven largely by the withdrawal of a Lloyd’s Banking Group investment mandate. Abrdn confirmed this would be the final tranche of Lloyd’s withdrawal. “Pretty much all of the key numbers were worse than the low expectations either we or consensus had. The company has also stated that its targets will now take longer to achieve and with material additional below the line restructuring costs,” said David McCann at Numis.