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Highlights:

  • Aberdeen reported £500.1bn in AUMA in Q1 2025, with inflows from interactive investor offsetting market-driven outflows in other divisions.

  • Interactive investor achieved 9% growth in total customers and 29% growth in SIPP accounts, underlining robust organic performance.

  • The Group remains on course to meet its FY 2026 targets, supported by a major transformation drive and strategic acquisitions.

Aberdeen Group plc (LSE:ABDN) has released its Q1 2025 update, reporting total assets under management and administration (AUMA) of £500.1 billion. The results reflect the impact of subdued market conditions, though the Group highlighted robust growth in its interactive investor (ii) business and progress on its strategic transformation plans.

Mixed Flows Across Divisions

While overall AUMA declined slightly due to weaker markets, Aberdeen’s retail investment platform, interactive investor. The platform attracted £1.6 billion in net inflows during the quarter, partially offsetting net outflows from the Investments and Adviser divisions.

The Adviser segment saw net outflows of £0.6 billion. However, this marks a significant improvement — more than 30% better than Q1 and Q4 of 2024 — as the Group restored service levels, enhanced its platform, and implemented pricing adjustments. 

The Investments division reported net outflows of £6.4 billion, driven primarily by a previously flagged £4.2 billion redemption from a low-margin mandate. Despite the headline outflows, the company noted that its Institutional & Retirement Wealth (I&RW) flows turned positive year to date, supported by a large quantitative strategy win in April.

Interactive Investor

Interactive investor continues to be a bright spot for Aberdeen. The platform posted a 9% year-on-year increase in total customers, bringing the count to 450,000. Particularly impressive was a 29% rise in SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) customers, reaching 88,000. The Group also announced the acquisition of a small retail customer book on 15 April.

Strategic Outlook Remains Positive

Looking forward, Aberdeen reiterated its ambition to become the UK’s leading Wealth & Investments group. The company remains committed to achieving its FY 2026 targets, which include adjusted operating profit of over £300 million and net capital generation of approximately £300 million.

The Group reported that it is on track to meet its transformation target of at least £150 million in annualised cost savings by the end of 2025. A newly appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) will oversee the long-term benefits of this transformation.

Interactive investor is expected to contribute significantly to Aberdeen’s growth targets, with products like Managed SIPP, ii Advice, and ii 360 designed to broaden customer appeal. The Adviser platform improvements are also set to support a target of at least £1 billion in net inflows for FY 2026. Meanwhile, the Investments segment is buoyed by the £6 billion funding of a quantitative strategies mandate in April and is targeting at least £100 million in adjusted operating profit by FY 2026.