Aberdeen Group (ABDN) Q4 2024 TU earnings summary

Executive summary

• Assets under management and administration (AUMA) reached £511bn at year-end, up 3% for 2024 and 1% in Q4, driven by strong organic growth in interactive investor and improved net inflows in Investments.

• Transformation program delivered over £100m in run-rate savings, on track for £150m annualized by end-2025, with new leadership appointments in Investments and operations.

Financial highlights

• interactive investor customer numbers rose 8% year-over-year to 439,000, with net flows of £1.4bn in Q4 and £5.7bn for the year, nearly double 2023.

• Investments AUM increased £1.5bn in Q4 to £370bn, with Institutional & Retail Wealth net inflows of £2.3bn in Q4 and £0.3bn for the year, reversing a £17.9bn outflow in 2023.

• Adviser AUMA ended the year at just over £75bn, up 2% for the year, with Q4 outflows of £0.9bn offset by positive markets.

• Trading volumes in interactive investor up 29% year-over-year, with AUMA in interactive investor up 17% year-over-year to £77.5bn.

Outlook and guidance

• Strong organic growth in interactive investor expected to continue in 2025, targeting high single-digit customer growth.

• Operating profit for 2024 expected broadly in line with consensus, providing a solid base for 2025.

• Revenue margin in Investments expected to decline slightly due to mix shift toward lower-margin assets, but business remains profitable.

• Adviser business aims to return to net inflows in 2025, with momentum building but full recovery expected to take time; platform revenue margin expected to be 2-3bps lower in FY 2025.