Gilbert eases worry over merger job losses as Aberdeen sees outflows ebb

Aberdeen Asset Management (AAM) chief executive Martin Gilbert has reassured his employees, and those at Standard Life, that the merger of the two companies will not lead to “dramatic” job losses.

Mr Gilbert made the announcement yesterday as Aberdeen released its interim results for the six months to the end of March.

The update showed that while AAM continued to see net outflows over the period, the bulk of the £13.4 bn lost came between October and December.

The last three months of last year saw net outflows of £10.5 bn, however, the figure dropped to £2.9bn in the following three months, as the weaker pound acted to cushion the blow.

In total over the six months, the fund manager took £22.7bn of new money across its fund range – a rise of nearly six per cent on the same period last year - and saw £36.1m flow out.

The period also saw a rise in assets under management, which increased to £308.1 bn at the end of March, up from £292.8bn six months earlier.

The investment giant said the better-than-expected first half results were the result of buoyant markets.

AAM also reported a 19.8 per cent year-on-year rise in pre-tax profits to £195.2m, while revenue jumped 10.6 per cent to £534.9m on the back of “favourable market conditions” and the completion of an efficiency drive expected to save £70m a year.

Shares in AAM enjoyed a solid day of trading following the trading update, rising by three per cent during yesterday’s trading to end the day at 290.5p, with shares in Standard Life also receiving a bump, ending the day two per cent up at 373.3p.

On the details of the likely effects of its looming £11 billion merger with Edinburgh-based Standard Life, Mr Gilbert said these over would emerge in a shareholders’ prospectus for the proposed deal next week.

In relation to possible job losses at both AAM and Standard Life, he said: “There are areas of overlap but we are not going to see any dramatic job cuts, and especially not in Aberdeen.”