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| Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Stock Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abrdn Plc | ABDN | London | Ordinary Share |
| Price Change | Price Change % | Share Price | Last Trade
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.15 | 0.11% | 137.60 | 16:35:19 |
| Open Price | Low Price | High Price | Close Price | Previous Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 139.90 | 137.00 | 139.90 | 137.60 | 137.45 |
| Industry Sector |
|---|
| EQUITY INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS |
| Top Posts |
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Posted at 12/11/2024 12:33 by fenners66 MCunliffe1its tantamount to Aberdeen starting a fund - lets call it the Abrdn Getting Smaller Companies Fund. They have invested hundreds of millions of £'s over the last few years in this fund and it has underperformed the market , probably by a market leading %. I have not run the numbers but , since they stated this fund , it must be something like -35% a year each year. However they are very proud of their performance and issue investors a new document trumpeting the virtues of investing in this fund often more than twice a year. Not only that but the funds performance does not have to be extracted from some obscure funds website that hardly anyone ever uses - instead , it makes it into some broadsheet papers daily ! Fantastic and in response to such market leading performance , their other fund holders have realised their mistake , not investing in that fund and have left those funds in their droves - £billions of investment have left as those investors have seen the light... |
Posted at 09/11/2024 12:47 by sigmund freud BBs may be related to CEO / board remuneration packages linked to share price increase, so if CEO etc want a big bonus, launch a BB.If the remuneration is linked to total returns to investors, issue a special dividend. Simple really. The strategy of their BB is not linked to financial incompetence, it is more related to snouts in the trough time. This is a general rule of thumb and has served me well to remember over the years. The fact that the BB occurred and the share price fell, is the actual sign of incompetence of those with snouts in the trough. STAN's BB has put rocket fuel under the share price this last 12 months, that is what should happen in a BB |
Posted at 07/11/2024 14:28 by kenmitch jonnybig.I think that’s nonsense but I might think agsin if you answer this question effectively. GULF KEYSTONE were paying 88p in dividends in 2021 when the share price was usually around 260p. That meant that year investors got back over 30% of the stake. Was that or was it not a genuine cash reward? That was the question to answer. (The share price is much lower now but that’s because they had to cancel all dividends on the sudden closure of the pipeline. But for that investors would have had more than their original stake back in roughly 3 years and could run the shares for free. And but for the pipeline closure the share price would have continued to do well too). As for ABDN they started buybacks at £5 and continued them for several years and all the way down to £1.40 for a 70% loss. Is that really better than the Gulf Keystone dividend example I’ve just posted? |
Posted at 28/10/2024 07:23 by geckotheglorious Value in recovering Abrdn, says Panmure LiberumAsset manager Abrdn (ABDN) has a long road to recovery but there is more value in the business than the shares suggest, says Panmure Liberum. Analyst Rae Maile retained his ‘buy’ recommendation and target price of 240p on the Citywire Elite Companies A-rated investment group, which tumbled 3.1% to 141p at the end of last week after it confirmed investors pulled billions from its funds in the third quarter. ‘There is no doubting the challenge faced by the new chief executive, but there should be a hope that he stands a better chance of rising to that challenge than his predecessor,’ said Maile. In the short term, the company ‘continues to suffer from past mistakes’, especially in its adviser division where ‘Abrdn’s pain has already provided others’ gains’, but longer-term there is opportunity. ‘Estimates slip but the opportunity in the share price remains: there is more value in the business than the current share price discounts, but maybe now there is a management team which can do something about that,’ said Maile. |
Posted at 25/10/2024 10:36 by ricardo montalban Feel sorry for the standard life investors who have watched their share capital get vaporised by being hooked up with terminal junk like Aberdeen. Just a matter of time till dividend heavily cut. |
Posted at 24/10/2024 11:36 by smithie6 Chinese Investor posted"Never Knowingly Wrong ! Chinese Investor (ABDN) 19 Jul 2023 - 13:32:20 Once the threat of high inflation evaporates then ABDN will zoom upwards. JMO" ---- he also posted that the share price would fall. If you post that the share price will rise...AND also post that it will fall you will be surely be right !! with one of the 2 guesses !! he he ! |
Posted at 07/8/2024 08:06 by cwa1 Times article:-Abrdn laments ‘sunk cost’ of £1.49bn deal for Interactive Investor Jason Windsor, the interim chief executive, has admitted that his predecessor paid a high price for the DIY investment platform new Patrick Hosking, Financial Editor Tuesday August 06 2024, 5.45pm BST, The Times Abrdn reported net inflows of £800 million in the six months to June, a reversal from the net outflows of £5.2 billion posted last time Abrdn reported net inflows of £800 million in the six months to June, a reversal from the net outflows of £5.2 billion posted last time ALAMY Abrdn’s former chief executive Stephen Bird paid “a high price” when he forked out £1.49 billion in cash for Interactive Investor in 2021, his interim successor Jason Windsor has said. Windsor said on Tuesday that the DIY investment platform for retail investors was doing well, but conceded the purchase price — which was equivalent to 40 times profits — had been full. “It probably was a high price at the time,” he said, “but that’s history. It’s a sunk cost.” Stephen Bird, who left Abrdn in May, said the Interactive Investor was “transformatio Stephen Bird, who left Abrdn in May, said the Interactive Investor was “transformatio JOSHUA BRATT FOR THE TIMES The focus on Interactive comes amid speculation over whether its bigger rival Hargreaves Lansdown will agree a £5.4 billion takeover offer from a CVC-led private equity consortium, which values Hargreaves at a more modest 17 times profits. The two sides have provisionally agreed a price and have until Friday to strike a deal under takeover rules. Bird, who left in May, hailed the Interactive deal at the time as “transformatio He had to pay a high price, it was argued, because Barclays was interested in buying the platform, while Interactive’s owner, the private equity group JC Flowers, was also considering a possible flotation. Windsor, who arrived last year and is interim chief executive, was commenting after announcing early signs of a recovery in profitability at Abrdn, formerly Standard Life Aberdeen. Outflows of client money had been significantly contained, while operating profits in the six months to June crept £1 million higher to £128 million. He hailed Interactive’s success in winning £3.1 billion of net inflows in the first half, which was more than in the whole of 2023. However, its adjusted operating profit fell from £61 million to £55 million. Overall, Abrdn reported net inflows of £800 million, a recovery from the net outflows of £5.2 billion posted last time. Abrdn, the product of the 2017 merger between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management, has been plagued for years by clients pulling money out. It is one of the most widely held companies with about 1 million small shareholders and owns a mainstream asset management business and a platform for financial advisers as well as Interactive. The insurance arm has been sold and as it confirmed it was on track to make £150 million of cost savings by 2025. It also reaffirmed plans to explore trying to extract some of the surplus from its staff pension fund, which grew from £700 million to about £800 million in the period. Abrdn is one of the few large employers to confirm it would like to claw back some of the surplus built up in its defined benefit scheme. It is considering both a buyback with a conventional insurance company, but also “running on” the scheme while extracting some of its surplus. Clawing back some of the pension surplus would be innovative and potentially difficult, though the government is exploring ways to make it easier. Windsor said Abrdn had “a really good relationship” with the trustees of the scheme and would “tread softly”. Abrdn is waiting for a consultation by the Department for Work and Pensions before it can take any further steps. It is thought any clawback would have to be approved by The Pensions Regulator. The scheme has 13,000 members. It was closed to new members in 2004 and to new accrual from existing members in 2019. About 4,000 of its members are already drawing a pension. Most Abrdn staff today are in a separate defined contribution scheme. Shares in Abrdn closed down 1¼p, or 0.8 per cent, at 158¾p. |
Posted at 10/10/2023 16:06 by pj84 Hoper1Here it is, it's quite long. "Panmure Gordon: ‘Something has to change’ at Abrdn Analysts at the investment bank want a change of strategy from Abrdn’s management, arguing that the right calls could provide huge value to investors. BY JACK GILBERT, VICTORIA BELL Analysts at Panmure Gordon have called for a structural overhaul of Abrdn’s (ABDN) management strategy, saying that ‘something has to change’ at the under-pressure provider. The note from investment bank Panmure Gordon, seen by Wealth Manager’s sister title Citywire New Model Adviser, criticises Abrdn’s management decisions and recent performance and warns of the possible risks of its re-platforming project. However, it also increases its Abrdn recommendation from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ on the basis that the component parts of the business outweigh its market capitalisation of £3bn. It concludes that if management changes tack, the business has value for investors and its share price can rise by almost two-thirds. Despite ‘management messaging at the interim results putting a gloss on performance to which we cannot subscribe’, the analysts said there is now a significant gap between Abrdn’s market cap and the underlying value of its assets. ‘There remains the real risk that value leaks through mismanagement, but the value gap has reopened and so opportunity is again in the share price,’ the note says. Platform struggles Under its CEO Stephen Bird, Abrdn’s leadership has been attempting to change the business’s reputation as a life and pensions company, in favour of a tech-focused asset manager. However, it is facing some severe headwinds, including the recent performance of its platform business (which sits under its Adviser division), highlighted by Panmure Gordon. Abrdn is gearing up to re-platform Elevate and FundZone adviser users onto its Wrap platform, which will be rebranded as AdviserOS. As part of this move, it launched a big software upgrade for Wrap in February, which caused issues for IFAs and contributed to it seeing a £600m net platform outflow over the first half of 2023. The analyst note said the challenges Abrdn faces with the re-platforming could be even worse than many are anticipating. It cited NMA’s article in August that revealed that many advisers are holding off placing new platform business with Abrdn. ‘As was seen by Quilter previously, the negative impact from a technology mishap tends to be less short term than the company initially hopes,’ the note says. ‘It can take multiple quarters, if not years, before advisers regain confidence and trust in a platform. ‘The prolonged impact from technology disruption and damaged adviser relationships is likely to exacerbate the already weak relative performance of Abrdn’s adviser platform, we fear.’ Panmure Gordon says Abrdn was already losing platform market share before the re-platforming and is close to being overtaken by Quilter as the top platform by assets. A spokesperson for Abrdn pointed to its platform business generating £103m of revenue and £49m of profit in the first half of 2023. They also said that now its tech upgrade for Wrap has finished, the launch of AdviserOS will allow it to be a ‘key differentiator in the market’ and Abrdn will add more platform solutions for advisers including its managed portfolio service. ‘Despite the market volatility, the mid-term market opportunity remains compelling – with forecast assets under administration growth of 11% per annum,’ the Abrdn spokesperson said. ‘Using the capacity creation from our technology upgrade, we are well positioned to drive new business.’ Weak investment performance Ever since Standard Life’s merger with Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017, the combined group, which rebranded as Abrdn in 2021, has seen its asset management arm struggle for performance and flows. Over one year, 64% of its assets are in the bottom half for performance against their peer groups, according to analysis by our sister title Citywire Amplify in June. In July, Abrdn announced the closure of Global Absolute Return Strategies (Gars), once its flagship fund, and in April it was reported the firm was to cut 27 roles from its multi-asset team. Abrdn’s management team laid out plans in March 2021 to focus its asset management arm on Asia, private markets and its wholesale channel, but Panmure Gordon analysts are unconvinced that this strategy has ‘achieved its aim of delivering a better flow performance’. Excluding the assets it is losing as part of the Lloyds Swip transfer, Abrdn saw net outflows of £5.9bn from its fund management arm in the first half of 2023. One shining light in Abrdn’s recent financials has been the performance of its direct-to-consumer platform Interactive Investor, which sits in its personal division. Interactive Investor’s revenues jumped from £40m to £115m in H1 2023. Panmure Gordon acknowledged that Interactive Investor has performed strongly since its takeover in 2021, but added that this outperformance was driven by its cash margin, which generated £66m in revenues in the first six months of the year. The analysts cautioned that while this cash revenue is a valid source of income, ‘elsewhere in the sector, Hargreaves Lansdown is rarely praised for its revenue benefit from treasury income’. Abrdn’s acquisition of investing community forum company Finimize was also singled out by Panmure Gordon as a ‘very poor one’. Since the acquisition in 2021, Abrdn has written down Finimize’s goodwill by £55m, wiping off around two-thirds of its original value of about £87m at the time of the deal. Despite the challenges and missteps pointed out by Panmure Gordon in its note, the analysts believe Abrdn’s share price, which has fallen by 34% since the end of July, is undervalued by the market. This assessment is based on a valuation of its component parts, which it aggregates to be £4.2bn, discounting any synergy between the divisions it does not believe is being seen by investors. The components are as follows: 10% stake in Phoenix, currently valued at £500m. Surplus capital of £1bn at the time of the interim results. Personal business value of £1.5bn, including a £1.3bn value for Interactive Investor (bought for £1.5bn). £1bn valuation for its platform business, based on a 15x multiple. £300m valuation of its fund management arm. Based on these figures, Panmure Gordon believes there is significant opportunity for share price growth if the ‘board steps up’. Its price target for Abrdn is 250p per share, compared with its current price of 155.1p. ‘Whether it is this leadership team which realises the value is moot,’ the note said. ‘Reflecting the value opportunity and the need for the board to step up, we return to a buy recommendation.̵ Not everyone is so confident, however. Last week, two new short sellers – AHL Partners and Samlyn Capital – took out short positions against Abrdn. Abrdn has been approached for comment. |
Posted at 02/12/2021 11:49 by skinny The boxed version :-)Proposed acquisition of interactive investor Limited abrdn announces plans to acquire 100 per cent. of the UK's leading subscription-based investment platform interactive investor for GBP1.49 billion. abrdn and interactive investor have a shared vision of the growth and development of the wealth market and a commitment to being the customer champion. This acquisition will significantly enhance our presence and growth opportunities within a fast-growing and attractive market. Stephen Bird, Chief Executive Officer of abrdn plc commented: "This is a unique opportunity and a transformative step in delivering our growth strategy. interactive investor is the UK's number one subscription-based investing platform with a powerful reputation as a consumer champion. abrdn's scale, resources, and shared vision will enable interactive investor to grow confidently and expand its leadership position in the UK's attractive savings and wealth market. I am delighted that Richard Wilson and his team will continue to lead interactive investor." Richard Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of interactive investor Limited commented: "This is an exciting new chapter in our history and means that we can focus exclusively on serving those who matter most: our customers. We will have access to abrdn's additional capabilities across research, advice and wealth management services, and we will benefit from being part of one of Europe's largest investment and wealth management firms, with a vision and values closely aligned to our own. Our management will remain the same, and the same extraordinary team will continually develop our service and technology, while maintaining our subscription pricing, our whole of market choice and the same campaigning spirit and editorial independence." -- abrdn has agreed to acquire 100 per cent. of the ordinary share capital of the holding company of interactive investor Limited ("interactive investor") from its shareholders, including J.C. Flowers IV L.P. (a fund advised by J.C. Flowers & Co.) and key members of interactive investor's management, for total consideration of GBP1.49 billion [1] . -- Completion of the Acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions including regulatory consents and abrdn Shareholder approval. -- interactive investor is the leading subscription-based platform ([2]) within the high-growth UK direct investing market, with over 400,000 customers ([3]) and AUA of approximately GBP55 billion ([4]) . The UK direct investing market benefits from accelerating demographic and structural market trends. In combination, the high-tech, high-touch models of interactive investor and abrdn can enable clients to become better investors and create more opportunities for their financially secure futures. -- The Acquisition is a material step in our building of a leadership position in the personal wealth market, with AUMA in the Personal vector increasing nearly fivefold to GBP69 billion [5] on a pro forma basis. -- abrdn considers the investment choices, flexibility and fixed fee pricing model that interactive investor offers customers, and its ethos as a consumer champion, to positively differentiate it in the market. abrdn is therefore committed to interactive investor's standalone open-architecture, subscription-based revenue model for the long-term. -- As part of the Acquisition, Richard Wilson, CEO of interactive investor will join abrdn and continue to lead interactive investor, which will operate as a standalone business within abrdn's Personal vector. -- interactive investor has grown rapidly, attracting high-value customers and is expected to continue to deliver a strong profile of growth and efficiency. The Acquisition is expected to be double-digit earnings accretive [6] in the first full financial year following Completion. -- The Acquisition will be funded in cash from abrdn's capital resources. Following the Acquisition, abrdn's capital position will remain strong with an indicative pro forma regulatory capital surplus (post IFPR) of c.GBP0.5 billion and in addition c.GBP2.5 billion of value from our listed investments [7] . We intend to issue Additional Tier 1 debt of c.GBP200 million to optimise our capital structure. Strategic rationale for the Acquisition Acquisition achieves scale in the high-growth direct investing market, accessing new customer segments and capabilities -- Growing our Personal vector and expanding its capabilities and scale is a clear strategic priority for abrdn. The current focus of our Personal vector on financial planning and discretionary investment management will be transformed by combining with the high-tech model of interactive investor enabling us to meet clients' financial needs throughout their lives. Following the Acquisition, our Personal vector will have GBP69 billion of AUMA [8] on a pro forma basis and the share of abrdn Group fee based revenue [9] from Personal will increase from 6 per cent. [10] to 13 per cent. [11] -- The direct investing market has grown at c.15 per cent. [12] compound historically and is expected to continue growing at a similar rate in the future driven by accelerating demographic and structural market trends. These include the democratisation of wealth, increased digitalisation of services, better value for money propositions, substantial inter-generational wealth transfers and the growing importance of a dynamic offering to address changing client behaviours and needs over time. interactive investor is the UK's leading subscription-based direct investing platform and consumer champion -- interactive investor is the leading subscription-based direct investing platform in the UK, with over 400,000 customers, and a meaningful proportion of high-value customers based on AUA per customer. Its open-architecture, digitally-enabled, data-centric model and technology platform drives strong customer engagement, activity and acquisition, through data analytics, customer personalisation and high user functionality. -- This has enabled interactive investor to build growth momentum, with net flows of GBP5.5 billion ([13]) , c.17 per cent. of opening AUA, and increasing trading volumes of c.21,700 daily average retail trades over the twelve month period to 30 June 2021, which compares to c.8,700 over the twelve month period to 31 December 2019. Total AUA has increased 55 per cent. compound over the period between 31 December 2018 to 30 June 2021. -- interactive investor is focused on continuing to deliver enhanced user experience for its customers following the successful roll out of a new mobile app and website and, most recently, the launch of 'Friends and Family', where existing customers can introduce multiple friends or family for only GBP5 per month. -- interactive investor's platform is scalable with a large proportion of efficient straight-through processing, which allows significant scaling in customer numbers and activity. Strong operating leverage in the business has resulted in an improving margin [14] from 23 per cent. ([15]) to 34 per cent. ([16]) . Transforms our Personal vector, significantly growing and diversifying revenue and profitability -- Following the Acquisition, abrdn's Personal vector will have scale and relevance, with fee based revenue more than doubling from GBP83 million ([17]) to GBP199 million ([18]) on a pro forma basis. The vector's growth potential is expected to accelerate given the trends supporting strong growth prospects for the personal wealth market and direct investing specifically. -- interactive investor's projected revenue growth complements abrdn's high single digit revenue growth target (three year CAGR to 2023), accelerating sustainable growth, and its operating margin is incremental to abrdn's existing target to exit 2023 at a cost/income ratio of c.70 per cent. -- The Acquisition significantly expands our addressable market and creates a step change in our combined UK wealth offering. interactive investor expands abrdn's client reach, adding over 400,000 customers, allowing us to meet a broader range of client behaviours and needs. Shared vision of a combined high-tech, high-touch model that meets clients' financial needs throughout their lives -- interactive investor aligns closely with abrdn's client-led offering. Together with abrdn's established propositions in financial planning and discretionary investment management, the combined offering provides clients with trust, confidence and compelling value for clients at all stages of their financial journeys. -- interactive investor complements recently added new digital capabilities, with Exo Investing, which allows easier investing for clients through AI digital investing capabilities, and Finimize, which offers digestible investing information and insights to a highly engaged investor community. -- interactive investor will be able to leverage abrdn's trust, deep expertise in financial advice, meticulous research and global perspective. In combination, interactive investor's high-tech model broadens abrdn's existing personal wealth offerings, from self-directed investing to high-touch financial planning and discretionary investment management. Optimal deployment of our capital to drive sustainable growth, returns, scale and shareholder value - the Acquisition is expected to be double-digit earnings accretive [19] -- The Acquisition creates a leading position for the Personal vector in the high-growth UK savings market, and is expected to be double-digit earnings accretive [20] in the first full financial year following Completion. -- The Acquisition will be funded in cash from abrdn's capital resources. Following the Acquisition, abrdn's capital position will remain strong with an indicative pro forma regulatory capital surplus (post IFPR) of c.GBP0.5 billion and in addition c.GBP2.5 billion in value from our listed investments [21] . We intend to issue Additional Tier 1 debt of c.GBP200 million to optimise our capital structure. -- The Acquisition improves abrdn's dividend cover. The Board intends to maintain the total dividend at 14.6 pence per annum until it is covered at least 1.5 times by adjusted capital generation, at which point the Board will seek to grow the dividend in line with its assessment of the underlying medium term growth in profitability. Further information on interactive investor interactive investor is the leading subscription-based, digitally enabled, direct investing platform in the UK, founded in 1995. Its holding company is controlled by a fund advised by J.C. Flowers & Co., a leading private equity firm. interactive investor is the UK's largest fixed fee subscription-based investing platform, with GBP55 billion of AUA and over 400,000 customers ([22]) . interactive investor has a strong track record of acquiring, integrating and investing in complementary platform businesses. interactive investor completed the acquisition of TD Direct Investing in 2017, Alliance Trust Savings in 2019, and Share plc in 2020. The latest acquisition was the EQi book of customers, which completed in June 2021. interactive investor is based in Manchester, with offices in London and Leeds, and has c.777 employees [23] . The interactive investor Group generated adjusted profit before tax of GBP45.5 million and reported profit before tax of GBP41.7 million for the year ended 2020 and had gross assets of GBP636 million as at 30 June 2021. |
Posted at 02/12/2021 11:47 by spud abrdn PLC Acquisition02/12/2021 10:40am UK Regulatory (RNS & others) Abrdn (LSE:ABDN) Intraday Stock Chart Thursday 2 December 2021 Click Here for more Abrdn Charts. TIDMABDN RNS Number : 3704U abrdn PLC 02 December 2021 2 December 2021 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO, OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE abrdn plc ("abrdn") Proposed acquisition of interactive investor Limited abrdn announces plans to acquire 100 per cent. of the UK's leading subscription-based investment platform interactive investor for GBP1.49 billion. abrdn and interactive investor have a shared vision of the growth and development of the wealth market and a commitment to being the customer champion. This acquisition will significantly enhance our presence and growth opportunities within a fast-growing and attractive market. Stephen Bird, Chief Executive Officer of abrdn plc commented: "This is a unique opportunity and a transformative step in delivering our growth strategy. interactive investor is the UK's number one subscription-based investing platform with a powerful reputation as a consumer champion. abrdn's scale, resources, and shared vision will enable interactive investor to grow confidently and expand its leadership position in the UK's attractive savings and wealth market. I am delighted that Richard Wilson and his team will continue to lead interactive investor." Richard Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of interactive investor Limited commented: "This is an exciting new chapter in our history and means that we can focus exclusively on serving those who matter most: our customers. We will have access to abrdn's additional capabilities across research, advice and wealth management services, and we will benefit from being part of one of Europe's largest investment and wealth management firms, with a vision and values closely aligned to our own. Our management will remain the same, and the same extraordinary team will continually develop our service and technology, while maintaining our subscription pricing, our whole of market choice and the same campaigning spirit and editorial independence." -- abrdn has agreed to acquire 100 per cent. of the ordinary share capital of the holding company of interactive investor Limited ("interactive investor") from its shareholders, including J.C. Flowers IV L.P. (a fund advised by J.C. Flowers & Co.) and key members of interactive investor's management, for total consideration of GBP1.49 billion [1] . -- Completion of the Acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions including regulatory consents and abrdn Shareholder approval. -- interactive investor is the leading subscription-based platform ([2]) within the high-growth UK direct investing market, with over 400,000 customers ([3]) and AUA of approximately GBP55 billion ([4]) . The UK direct investing market benefits from accelerating demographic and structural market trends. In combination, the high-tech, high-touch models of interactive investor and abrdn can enable clients to become better investors and create more opportunities for their financially secure futures. -- The Acquisition is a material step in our building of a leadership position in the personal wealth market, with AUMA in the Personal vector increasing nearly fivefold to GBP69 billion [5] on a pro forma basis. -- abrdn considers the investment choices, flexibility and fixed fee pricing model that interactive investor offers customers, and its ethos as a consumer champion, to positively differentiate it in the market. abrdn is therefore committed to interactive investor's standalone open-architecture, subscription-based revenue model for the long-term. -- As part of the Acquisition, Richard Wilson, CEO of interactive investor will join abrdn and continue to lead interactive investor, which will operate as a standalone business within abrdn's Personal vector. -- interactive investor has grown rapidly, attracting high-value customers and is expected to continue to deliver a strong profile of growth and efficiency. The Acquisition is expected to be double-digit earnings accretive [6] in the first full financial year following Completion. -- The Acquisition will be funded in cash from abrdn's capital resources. Following the Acquisition, abrdn's capital position will remain strong with an indicative pro forma regulatory capital surplus (post IFPR) of c.GBP0.5 billion and in addition c.GBP2.5 billion of value from our listed investments [7] . We intend to issue Additional Tier 1 debt of c.GBP200 million to optimise our capital structure. Strategic rationale for the Acquisition Acquisition achieves scale in the high-growth direct investing market, accessing new customer segments and capabilities -- Growing our Personal vector and expanding its capabilities and scale is a clear strategic priority for abrdn. The current focus of our Personal vector on financial planning and discretionary investment management will be transformed by combining with the high-tech model of interactive investor enabling us to meet clients' financial needs throughout their lives. Following the Acquisition, our Personal vector will have GBP69 billion of AUMA [8] on a pro forma basis and the share of abrdn Group fee based revenue [9] from Personal will increase from 6 per cent. [10] to 13 per cent. [11] -- The direct investing market has grown at c.15 per cent. [12] compound historically and is expected to continue growing at a similar rate in the future driven by accelerating demographic and structural market trends. These include the democratisation of wealth, increased digitalisation of services, better value for money propositions, substantial inter-generational wealth transfers and the growing importance of a dynamic offering to address changing client behaviours and needs over time. interactive investor is the UK's leading subscription-based direct investing platform and consumer champion -- interactive investor is the leading subscription-based direct investing platform in the UK, with over 400,000 customers, and a meaningful proportion of high-value customers based on AUA per customer. Its open-architecture, digitally-enabled, data-centric model and technology platform drives strong customer engagement, activity and acquisition, through data analytics, customer personalisation and high user functionality. -- This has enabled interactive investor to build growth momentum, with net flows of GBP5.5 billion ([13]) , c.17 per cent. of opening AUA, and increasing trading volumes of c.21,700 daily average retail trades over the twelve month period to 30 June 2021, which compares to c.8,700 over the twelve month period to 31 December 2019. Total AUA has increased 55 per cent. compound over the period between 31 December 2018 to 30 June 2021. -- interactive investor is focused on continuing to deliver enhanced user experience for its customers following the successful roll out of a new mobile app and website and, most recently, the launch of 'Friends and Family', where existing customers can introduce multiple friends or family for only GBP5 per month. -- interactive investor's platform is scalable with a large proportion of efficient straight-through processing, which allows significant scaling in customer numbers and activity. Strong operating leverage in the business has resulted in an improving margin [14] from 23 per cent. ([15]) to 34 per cent. ([16]) . Transforms our Personal vector, significantly growing and diversifying revenue and profitability -- Following the Acquisition, abrdn's Personal vector will have scale and relevance, with fee based revenue more than doubling from GBP83 million ([17]) to GBP199 million ([18]) on a pro forma basis. The vector's growth potential is expected to accelerate given the trends supporting strong growth prospects for the personal wealth market and direct investing specifically. -- interactive investor's projected revenue growth complements abrdn's high single digit revenue growth target (three year CAGR to 2023), accelerating sustainable growth, and its operating margin is incremental to abrdn's existing target to exit 2023 at a cost/income ratio of c.70 per cent. -- The Acquisition significantly expands our addressable market and creates a step change in our combined UK wealth offering. interactive investor expands abrdn's client reach, adding over 400,000 customers, allowing us to meet a broader range of client behaviours and needs. Shared vision of a combined high-tech, high-touch model that meets clients' financial needs throughout their lives -- interactive investor aligns closely with abrdn's client-led offering. Together with abrdn's established propositions in financial planning and discretionary investment management, the combined offering provides clients with trust, confidence and compelling value for clients at all stages of their financial journeys. -- interactive investor complements recently added new digital capabilities, with Exo Investing, which allows easier investing for clients through AI digital investing capabilities, and Finimize, which offers digestible investing information and insights to a highly engaged investor community. -- interactive investor will be able to leverage abrdn's trust, deep expertise in financial advice, meticulous research and global perspective. In combination, interactive investor's high-tech model broadens abrdn's existing personal wealth offerings, from self-directed investing to high-touch financial planning and discretionary investment management. Optimal deployment of our capital to drive sustainable growth, returns, scale and shareholder value - the Acquisition is expected to be double-digit earnings accretive [19] -- The Acquisition creates a leading position for the Personal vector in the high-growth UK savings market, and is expected to be double-digit earnings accretive [20] in the first full financial year following Completion. -- The Acquisition will be funded in cash from abrdn's capital resources. Following the Acquisition, abrdn's capital position will remain strong with an indicative pro forma regulatory capital surplus (post IFPR) of c.GBP0.5 billion and in addition c.GBP2.5 billion in value from our listed investments [21] . We intend to issue Additional Tier 1 debt of c.GBP200 million to optimise our capital structure. -- The Acquisition improves abrdn's dividend cover. The Board intends to maintain the total dividend at 14.6 pence per annum until it is covered at least 1.5 times by adjusted capital generation, at which point the Board will seek to grow the dividend in line with its assessment of the underlying medium term growth in profitability. Further information on interactive investor interactive investor is the leading subscription-based, digitally enabled, direct investing platform in the UK, founded in 1995. Its holding company is controlled by a fund advised by J.C. Flowers & Co., a leading private equity firm. interactive investor is the UK's largest fixed fee subscription-based investing platform, with GBP55 billion of AUA and over 400,000 customers ([22]) . interactive investor has a strong track record of acquiring, integrating and investing in complementary platform businesses. interactive investor completed the acquisition of TD Direct Investing in 2017, Alliance Trust Savings in 2019, and Share plc in 2020. The latest acquisition was the EQi book of customers, which completed in June 2021. interactive investor is based in Manchester, with offices in London and Leeds, and has c.777 employees [23] . The interactive investor Group generated adjusted profit before tax of GBP45.5 million and reported profit before tax of GBP41.7 million for the year ended 2020 and had gross assets of GBP636 million as at 30 June 2021. spud |
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