The fund house agreed to settle with the regulator and had reported the inadvertent breaches of the client money rules when it identified them.
In a statement on the London Stock Exchange, Aberdeen said: “No clients suffered any loss as a result of the breaches and at no point were client funds mixed with the company’s own money. Nor was there any risk of any client money being lost as a result of set-off, although there was a risk that clients could have potentially faced a delay in the return of their money it the highly unlikely even the company became insolvent.”
The breaches related to money placed in money market deposits and third party banks between September 2008 and August 2011.
The FCA said the average daily balance affected by Aberdeen’s failures was £685m.
Aberdeen incorrectly determined this money was not subject to FCA rules, which meant they did not obtain the correct documentation from third party banks when setting up these accounts, the FCA explained. The company also used inconsistent naming conventions when setting up these accounts, which created uncertainty over who owned them.
Tracey McDermott, director of enforcement and financial crime at the FCA said: “Proper handling of client money is essential in ensuring markets function effectively. Where they fall short of our standards, firms should expect he FCA to step in and take action to avoid poor outcome for their clients, and ultimately, consumers.
Aberdeen settled early so qualified for a 30% discount to their fine, which would have been £10.27m.
The company said it regretted the situation arose, co-operated fully with the FCA in the course of its investigation and has now amended its UK procedures regarding bank deposits.
The settlement comes shortly after Aberdeen announced AUM had fallen 1% in Q2 2013. This was put down to outflows from its flagship EM equity products, which have been soft closed.
