UK - Aberdeen Asset Management has bought multimanager, fund of hedge fund (FoHF) and other non-core assets of RBS worth £13.5bn (€bn), but revealed its own assets under management fell in the last three months of 2009 as a result of outflows and falling returns.

Aberdeen has paid almost £85m to take on the £9bn long-only multimanager portfolio and £4bn FoHF businesses along with £400m in "certain private equity and real estate fund of funds", and will now finance the transaction by issuing shares representing 8.3% of its ordinary share capital.

This deal came, however, at the same time as Aberdeen revealed its own assets ended the year down a fraction compared with Q3 2009, as assets under management dropped from £146.2bn to £144.1bn following net outflows from fixed income and money market holdings.

Net net inflows into equities worth £3.4bn countered the fixed income movement. However, a fall in the value of fixed income and property investments contributed to the total asset reduction, as property investments fell in value by £1.2bn and bond holdings lost £500m, alongside the loss of a major money market mandate which is now self-managed by the client.

Aberdeen was awarded mandates worth £3.1bn in Q4 which have yet to be funded, while gross new business in the three months was £9.6bn.

The firm has also paid down some of its credit through the sale of two management contracts, worth £23m to Aberdeen, to Premier Asset Management.

If you have any comments you would like to add to this or any other story, contact Julie Henderson on + 44 (0)20 7261 4602 or email julie.henderson@ipe.com

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