Gilbert says he’s going nowhere as AAM marks flotation milestone

Aberdeen Asset Management chief executive Martin Gilbert has stated that he intends to remain as head of the troubled investment fund he founded for another five years as the business reflects on a quarter century as a listed company.

But the stabilising news comes as AAM confronts the challenges of heavy investor outflows due to its exposure to volatile Asian markets.

Last week competitor BlackRock emerged as the biggest asset manager in Europe as AAM dropped out of an influential top 10 list on the back of recent poor performance.

The list, compiled by market research firm Fund Buyer Focus, shows Aberdeen was voted the 13th most popular fund management brand having been in 10th position in 2014 and having enjoyed its highest position of 9th the year before.

Earlier this month, Aberdeen also fell out of the FTSE 100 and was demoted to the FTSE 250 as the firm reported its 11th consecutive quarter of net outflows in January.

But the company’s current troubles are still a world away from when it was founded in 1983 with market capitalisation of £38 million compared to £3.6 billion when markets closed last week.

Likewise, assets under management have grown from £1billion to £290billion over its lifetime, making it the third largest listed fund manager in Europe.

Yet despite that long and dramatic journey, Mr Gilbert, who now boasts a distinguished list of former and current board appointments, including being deputy chairman of satellite TV giant, Sky, as well as formerly chairing FirstGroup, said that AAM’s stock market flotation “only seems like yesterday”.

The boss, who regularly appears at the annual meeting of the world’s most influential financiers at Davos, is currently 60 and his intention to remain at the helm for a further five years will throw water on persistent speculation that the weakened firm remains an acquisition target.

He said that “every investment banker in the world would probably have us on their list as the number one buying opportunity”, adding: “What we’ve always said is being independent is a massive advantage to us and as long as our shareholders are willing to support us, we’d rather stay independent.”

In May, Mr Gilbert, the board and senior managers have been invited to the London Stock Exchange where there will be a small ceremony ahead of them pressing the button to open the market at 8am.

MrGilbert said: “It only seems like yesterday. The company’s growth since we listed is unbelievable and primarily down to the people. Asset management is a people’s business and I’ve been fortunate to work with some exceptional people, including Ronnie Scott Brown, George Robb, Andrew Laing, Bill Rattray, Ken Fry and Hugh Young to name but a few.

“The company has had its fair share of ups and downs but our commitment and focus on the long term has helped to create one of the largest independent asset managers in the world from small beginnings.

“The global diversified business that has been created and the quality of people we employ mean Aberdeen is well placed to continue to help our clients achieve their investment goals and to grow over the next decades.”