Martin Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen, told the Financial Times: “No investment roles will be touched but we will look to do more in terms of controlling our costs.”
The group has been hit by the weak sentiment towards emerging markets. In its most recent trading statement in July, Aberdeen reported net outflows of £9.9bn for the second quarter, as institutional investors continued to reduce exposure to Asia and emerging market equities. Assets under management slipped from £330.6bn at the end of March to £307.3bn at the end of June.
This has been reflected in the share price, which has dipped 36% since its peak in April.
Aberdeen has 2,490 employees, 500 of which came from its acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership from Lloyds Banking Group in April last year. The reports suggested that redundancies would be kept to a minimum and were more to do with the completion of the ongoing integration of Swip.
The group is striving to diversify its business. When the group last updated the market, Gilbert said: “Our strategy for diversification has progressed further during the period. We have launched a number of new products in our Solutions business, completed the purchase of the remaining stake in Aberdeen SVG Private Equity, and announced the acquisition of FLAG Capital Management.” The group bought discretionary fund manager and platform Parmenion in September.
