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| Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Stock Type |
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| Standard Life Aberdeen Plc | SLA | London | Ordinary Share |
| Price Change | Price Change % | Share Price | Last Trade
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| 0.00 | 0.00% | 274.10 | 00:00:00 |
| Open Price | Low Price | High Price | Close Price | Previous Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 274.10 | 274.10 |
| Top Posts |
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Posted at 21/10/2021 10:56 by spud Should I buy the falling Abrdn share price?Christopher Ruane | Wednesday, 20th October, 2021 | More on: ABDN Over the past year, the stock market has performed well, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading companies growing by 22%. But financial services company Abrdn (LSE: ABDN) has increased by only 4% during the same period. Lately it’s been falling, losing more than a fifth of its value since March. Here I look at why the Abrdn share price is falling and whether I ought to add it to my portfolio. Abrdn’s business performance Abrdn is an investment company and so to some extent its fortunes are tied to the health of the financial services sector. But many financial services companies have outperformed Abrdn over the past year. Jupiter, for example, is up 7% while Schroders has added 25%. Abrdn’s silly rebrand (from Standard Life Aberdeen, in July) has received a lukewarm reaction. But that alone doesn’t explain the lacklustre share price performance. I also don’t think its most recent financial performance has been bad. In fact I would say the business has been performing well. In its half-year results, the company reported a 7% growth in fee-based revenue. It also has a much improved profit picture. For example, the adjusted operating profit jumped 52% compared to the equivalent period last year. Admittedly assets under management fell slightly. But overall I think the results show a company that is moving in the right direction. It maintained its outlook for the full year, and expects to cut its cost-to-income ratio further. Dividends and the Abrdn share price But not everything is rosy. The interim dividend was maintained. But the total dividend been “rebased” That might not go on for ever. The company has said that it intends to start lifting the dividend again once coverage reaches 1.5 times adjusted capital generation. In the half-year period most recently finished, the coverage level on this basis was 1.14. While that is comforting as it means that the dividend is covered, it is also some distance from the target. If coverage continues around the current level, it may be some years before Abrdn even considers increasing its dividend again. Dividends are never guaranteed, so the dividend could fall further if the business runs into hard times. For example, if the decline in assets under management accelerates, that could hurt both fee revenue and profits. Why I like the Abrdn share price However, it’s also worth noting that even after last year’s cut, the current Abrdn dividend yield is 5.7%. That’s lower than some sectoral peers such as Legal & General and M&G – but it’s still well above the average yield for a FTSE 100 member such as Abrdn. As well as the yield, the company has attractions to me including a well-established customer base and strong brands including Standard Life. If the economy contracts, customers could invest less and Abrdn’s profits may fall. But, even weighing the risks, I think the current Abrdn share price offers a buying opportunity for me. I would consider adding it to my portfolio. spud |
Posted at 05/10/2021 10:18 by spud Is Abrdn one of the best dividend stocks to buy?Royston Wild | Monday, 4th October, 2021 | More on: ABDN The September stock market crash took few prisoners and the Abrdn (LSE: ABDN) share price slumped 6% over the course of the month. It even dropped to its cheapest since November 2020 at one point. At 250p per share, the FTSE 100 firm’s now up just 4% on a 12-month basis. Does recent weakness represent a terrific dip buying opportunity for long-term investors like me? And is Abrdn one of the best dividend stocks for me to buy in particular? Well Abrdn certainly packs plenty of punch when it comes to dividend yields. City analysts think the asset manager will match 2020’s total annual payout of 14.6p per share in both 2021 and 2022. This results in a yield of 5.8%, one which smashes the broader FTSE 100 average of 3.5%. Restructuring progress Of course, there’s more than just yield to think about when considering which are the best income stocks to buy. Firstly, there’s a company’s profits outlook to think about. And there’s plenty going on on this front at Abrdn. The business was created from the 2017 merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management. And it’s embarked on an aggressive programme of asset shedding to streamline its operations and focus more effectively on the asset management sector alone. This includes the sale of its Standard Life brands to Phoenix in February and divestment of its Parmenion private equity brand. Abrdn also hopes the sale of non-core assets will bolster its long-term programme of cost reduction to give earnings an extra bump. The business reported a cost-to-income ratio of 79% between January and June, down 6% year-on-year. It hopes to pull the ratio to 70% by the end of 2023. Is Abrdn a risk too far? That being said, there are several reasons I think Abrdn might not be one of the best dividend stocks to buy. Firstly, that predicted 14.6p per share dividend for this year isn’t built on particularly strong foundations. In fact, those projected payouts are higher than analysts think earnings will come in at for both years. And Abrdn doesn’t have the financial clout of some of its rivals like Legal & General to paper over these cracks and meet those dividend projections. City analysts expect earnings at Abrdn to fall 88% in 2021 before rebounding 8% next year. But the level of fund outflows, while moderating more recently, remain substantial enough to cause me worry. Outflows clocked in at £5.6bn in the first half, suggesting investor confidence in the asset manager is still wafer-thin following the loss of a major contract with Lloyds a few years back. The fact that Abrdn operates in a hugely-competitive marketplace isn’t helping its cause either. And I think its recent decision to rebrand could backfire spectacularly. By ditching the Standard Life moniker, the company’s thrown away a brand that’s been trusted by customers since the early 1800s. This is particularly risky for businesses that exists to protect people’s money. All things considered I think there are better dividend stocks for me to buy right now. spud |
Posted at 11/9/2021 08:15 by mcunliffe1 Why have they left? What positions did they hold gaygay3?And why is abrdn so woefully undervalued? I believe that ANYTHING is worth only as much as somebody will pay for it. Estimates of weird artifacts placed at auction are often grossly inaccurate - Napoleon's tricorn hat being a recent example. Remember when SLA were buying-back their own shares, that provided a ready and willing buyer hence placing an artificial price on the shares (there was somebody willing to pay). Now we see how unloved this company is - nobody buying their shares. But why? I have a theory - and it could well be tosh - I'd like your views either way: Back in the 70's -90's The Standard Life Assurance Company was a well respected company and one whose function was well known and understood. They provided Life Assurance which generally was linked to mortages. As a result, young adults stepping out on the housing ladder for the first time would often encounter this company generally via the Halifax Building Society (another icon of its day) with whom the SL had a great relationship. Then we move into the complex era of the 2000's where financial dealings become clouded and hard to fully understand. Debt swaps, selling junk bonds etc etc. People become less trustful of financial institutions - the Halifax is bought and then dies. The Standard cosies up to Phoenix who take over much of the classic insurance/pension aspects of the Standard and also taking the name whilst the original Standard Life merges with Aberdeen. At that point I have shares in SLA resulting from the demutualisation and With Profits (and other) pensions with Standard Life (but really Phoenix) that permitted the shares to be given to me previously. I see my pension growing nicely throughout the past 10 years but see my SLA shares slipping. During the 2015-2019 period I must confess, I could not appreciate the difference between SLA and Standard Life (Phoenix). Only when I delved deeper did I realise that my complaints about the archaic computer systems controlling my pension had nothing at all to do with SLA and were the responsibility of Phoenix who had taken over that part of the old Standard Life business. So, what exactly does abrdn do now? I see few adverts, I see little comment (other than bad) in the popular financial press. I see hardly any meaningful comments from abrdn higher management. I watch the RNS feeds on this thread and see abrdn selling shares in a multitude of companies - often small parcels - sometimes selling on consequetive days the same stock and at a lower price on the latter date. Rarely see any buys. I'd love some answers as we get none from Bird and his gang. Sorry if a bit windy, and I know Pierre might ask why I continue to hold - sentimental value mainly as my departed dad worked for Std Life for years. |
Posted at 08/8/2021 14:15 by cassini unastubbs,Didn't ABDN cut the dividend but promise share buybacks in lieu of the divi reduction? ABDN's dividend yield was above LGEN's before that IIRC. What with that and the 'rebranding' to 'Abrdn' (and what that revealed, to my mind, about the management mindset) I sold out am in LGEN/PHNX/AV./MNG/CS |
Posted at 04/8/2021 10:44 by spud The next Abrdn dividend will be declared on 10-Aug-2021.This Abrdn dividend will be the 2021 interim dividend with an ex-dividend date of 19-Aug-2021 and dividend payment date of 28-Sep-21. Guessing 7.3p spud |
Posted at 20/5/2021 10:42 by spud Standard Life Aberdeen unveils top team hire ahead of shift to AbrdnStandard Life Aberdeen, the investment giant transitioning to the new brand name Abrdn, has bolstered its executive leadership team after poaching the boss of wealth manager Brooks Macdonald. Caroline Connellan takes up the post of chief executive of personal wealth, reporting directly to group chief executive Stephen Bird. She will be based in London. Connellan will join Edinburgh-headquarte She is said to have overseen strong year-on-year growth in funds under management, revenue and profit as well as undertaking key acquisitions and “driving significant transformation to support the success of the business”. Prior to this, Connellan held key senior roles at HSBC, including head of UK premier and wealth, and has extensive consulting experience across the asset management and wealth sector with McKinsey. Her earlier career included roles with Standard Life, which merged with Aberdeen Asset Management to create SLA, and as a private client fund manager with Newton Investment Management. SLA’s personal wealth business includes 1825 Financial Planning and the group’s direct-to-customer propositions including Digital Retirement Advice. The group said it was looking to “significantly Bird said: “[Caroline] is an outstanding talent with clear and proven ability in building exceptional wealth management businesses, both organically and via acquisition. Critically, she has a deep customer-centric mindset and extensive experience in creating compelling and innovative offerings. “Earlier this year, we outlined our strategy for growth encompassing three vectors; asset management, adviser and personal. “Alongside significant investment in asset management and our adviser support business, our intention is to build a market-leading wealth management proposition to capture value in the growing savings and pre-retirement market. “The appointment of Caroline to lead our personal wealth business will be instrumental in delivering our objectives and I’m extremely pleased that she has shown strong confidence in our strategy and brand by joining us.” Connellan added: “It’s an exciting time to be joining SLA given its ambitions and commitment to the growing wealth market. Stephen’s vision for the business is dynamic and bold, and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to lead and shape the personal wealth business, building on its current quality offering. “There is an increasing need for individuals to save for the future, particularly for retirement, in a way that works for them – I believe we can play an important role in this. “I’m hugely looking forward to joining the leadership team at SLA and playing my part in leading the change over the coming years.” Last month, SLA announced that it was to change its name to Abrdn, creating a “modern, agile, digitally-enabled brand”. The group had already said that it planned to create new branding after the funds firm sealed a deal to sell the 196-year-old Standard Life brand to Phoenix Group. The rebranding roll-out process for the new name and associated visual identity will begin in the summer and progress through 2021. spud |
Posted at 23/2/2021 11:33 by spud Standard Life Aberdeen simplifies Phoenix Group partnershipIn February 2018, SLA announced the sale of its insurance business for £3.24bn, as part of a long-term strategic partnership with Phoenix. The original transaction was highly complex and included a provision for Phoenix to license the Standard Life brand, while SLA would provide the aligned marketing services in perpetuity. Today’s announcement significantly simplifies the arrangements for the Standard Life brand and related marketing. The strategic asset management partnership - under which SLA currently manages £147.4bn of Phoenix assets - will be extended until at least 2031. To support growth plans for SLA's Wrap and Elevate adviser platforms, it will purchase the Wrap self-invested personal pension (SIPP) and Wrap Onshore Bond businesses from Phoenix. SLA will acquire the trustee investment plan (TIP) business from Phoenix Group to consolidate its investments offering for UK pension scheme clients. It will also sell the Standard Life brand to Phoenix during the course of 2021. As a consequence, certain colleagues who support this brand and related marketing will also transfer to Phoenix. SLA will pay £32m to Phoenix in return for it bearing the cost of some transferring colleagues going forward. SLA has initiated a branding review, the outcome of which it will announce later this year. The upfront payment by SLA for the purchase of the Wrap SIPP, onshore bond and TIP businesses will be £62.5m, which will be offset in part by expected payments from Phoenix to SLA relating to the profits of the business prior to completion of the legal transfer. All outstanding differences between the two groups in relation to legacy matters have been settled as part of the agreements being announced today. The resolution of these legacy matters will not materially impact on SLA’s 2020 financial performance and should result in a net cash inflow of £34m this month. This represents an inflow of £54m relating to specific indemnities and a £20m outflow relating to settlement of other legacy matters. SLA’s shareholding in Phoenix remains around 14% and it retains the right to appoint a director to the Phoenix board. SLA chief executive Stephen Bird said: "What we are announcing today is an agreement that simplifies the relationships in a way that will allow us to work together constructively as partners for at least the next 10 years. “The Standard Life brand has an important heritage - in the UK, it has strong recognition as a life insurance and workplace pensions brand - this is closely aligned with Phoenix’s strategy and customer base. "This is much less the case with the business we are building at Standard Life Aberdeen which is focused on global asset management, our market-leading platforms offerings to UK financial advisers and their customers, and our UK savings and wealth businesses.” Phoenix chief executive Andy Briggs added: “The simplification of the Standard Life brand, sales and marketing will be a key enabler of Phoenix’s growth strategy, which in turn should lead to greater asset flows to ASI.” spud |
Posted at 08/2/2021 16:20 by chinese investor From FT :-British Steel’s intake of apprentices in 1983 included an ambitious Scot keen to make his mark. After qualifying as an engineer, Stephen Bird eventually switched from steelmaking to finance and spent two decades at Citigroup, rising to senior roles in Asia and head of its global consumer banking unit. The 53-year-old made another career switch last year when he became chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen and immediately began reorganising the underperforming £456bn Edinburgh-based asset manager. “Few companies survive into their third century,” he says of SLA, which traces its roots back to 1825. “But my ambition is to ensure that Standard Life Aberdeen is a competitor fit for the 21st century.” During a video call from company headquarters, he is not shy about discussing his achievements, pointing out during his Citigroup years he “built the biggest wealth asset management business in Asia”. A recent SLA alumni, who notes Bird was in the mix as a possible chief executive for HSBC, described him as “very driven”. Bird’s plan is to strengthen SLA’s institutional investment and adviser platforms, expand wealth management and the fledgling direct-to-consumer business and deepen relationships with strategic partners such as Phoenix Insurance. “We have to set our sights higher. We have to focus, do fewer things more effectively, and create a performance culture in order to grow this business.” Such improvements are badly needed. SLA’s market value has shrunk by almost half from a peak of £13.3bn in October 2017 to £6.8bn following the combination of Standard Life with Aberdeen Asset Management. The deal devised by Keith Skeoch and Martin Gilbert, former SLA co-chiefs, was supposed to create a world class investment company but massive investor withdrawals and a drop of more than 40 per cent in pre-tax profits have resulted. Stemming investor outflows is a top priority. Bank of America forecasts net outflows of £10bn for 2020, which would lift withdrawals over the past four years to close to £100bn. Bird has pushed through a series of changes in his first six months as chief executive which has unsettled some staff. “Everybody is on guard. He is shaking things up quite substantially, including the organisational structure and operating tempo. It all feels very different but in quite a new and exciting way,” said an employee who declined to be named. But Bird insists that staff were frustrated by the lack of progress under the previous regime and improvements in morale will follow. “We now have the right people, the right technology and, most importantly, a lock on clients’ needs and ambitions,” says Bird. SLA’s shares currently yield about 6.9 per cent, one of the highest payout ratios among FTSE 100 peers. A thorny question confronting the board is whether to cut the dividend, which is uncovered by earnings. SLA’s robust balance sheet means it could match the 21.6p full-year dividend paid in 2019 but longer term support could be problematic. Some analysts think it would be timely to reduce the dividend by half given the cuts in payouts forced on numerous other companies by the coronavirus pandemic. Bird would not be drawn on this sensitive topic ahead of SLA’s full-year results in March. Since his arrival, the £6.5bn Parmenion advisory business, which was bought for £50m in 2016, has been put up for sale; the Nordic direct real estate business was sold last year; and SLA is quitting Indonesia, a fast growing market where it hoped to become a top 10 player but failed to penetrate. Tighter focus should deliver cost savings. SLA’s cost to income ratio stands at 85 per cent, exceeded only by Credit Suisse AM and GAM in a group of 34 rival European asset management businesses, according to analysts. Under Bird, a single asset management platform to oversee all of SLA’s institutional investment business will be completed this year. New fund development will be centralised instead of being carried out in multiple locations. Bird hints a new distribution partnership with a global wealth platform will be unveiled in the coming weeks. He declines to answer whether the partner is Citigroup but also struggles to suppress a smile. Speculation is also rife about mergers and acquisitions across the investment industry. SLA holds £1.8bn of surplus capital on its balance sheet which it could use to finance deals. But Bird is cautious. “We are going to be very careful if and when we acquire anything.” Cold water is poured over press reports over the scale of his ambitions to compete against the giant ETF businesses established by BlackRock and Vanguard. “We have to participate in ETFs when they are the most efficient delivery mechanism. We have more new ETFs in the pipeline but we are not going to become a 5 basis points index fund provider,” he says. Bird also aims to create a single integrated wealth management platform that will combine SLA’s financial advice and planning service which is branded as 1825, a discretionary fund management unit with £8bn in assets and SLA Choices, a fledgling consumer savings unit. “Asset management and wealth management are converging across the world. Intermediaries are being squeezed out and everyone is going direct. I am open to acquiring in this space [wealth management],” he says. Asia is also a target for expansion, not only because of Bird’s experience in the region. Heng An Standard Life, a joint venture between SLA and Tianjin TEDA International, was granted approval last month to launch pension investment products in China, the first foreign venture to receive this permission. “Asia is in my blood. I never thought I would work anywhere else. China and India will be at the heart of future wealth accumulation. Asia will be a very big part of our story,” he says. He plays acoustic guitar for relaxation and watches developments in hi-fi music technology, an interest that developed during his training as a mechanical engineer. “Engineering teaches you the importance of precision,” he says. SLA’s investors and policyholders will be watching to see whether Bird’s precision plans yield results. |
Posted at 27/1/2021 11:32 by spud Why I just bought Standard Life Aberdeen and Mitie Group sharesMichael Breen | Tuesday, 26th January, 2021 | More on: MTO SLA I am looking to make my cash work for me and, given current bank interest rates on savings, I am looking for companies where they offer the possibility of a good dividend and the potential for capital appreciation. When the markets turned down last March, even sound companies were hurt. But those who were digesting takeovers, or were in any way fragile, were unmercifully pummelled by nervous and over anxious investors. Let’s look at two shares that I have just purchased. The first was founded in 1825 – Standard Life Aberdeen (LSE: SLA) – and provides asset management services. The company offers investment solutions and funds, long-term savings and investment products to individual and corporate customers, and life insurance and savings products. It also makes real estate investments. Dividends Its dividend yield last year was 7.24%, which makes it very attractive to me as an income share. It is expected to be 6% this year and is normally paid at the end of May. For your information, the record date for the next dividend payment will be around the beginning of April. If you are a shareholder on this date, you are entitled to the forthcoming dividend. Rupert Hargraves of this parish spoke highly of Standard Life in December, and he offered some compelling arguments that this would be its year. These included the fact that the new CEO, Stephen Bird, seemed to be getting to grips with the relatively recently merged entities, Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management. spud |
Posted at 18/11/2020 11:19 by spud Standard Life Aberdeen wants to compete with BlackRock in ETFs: ‘It will be quite a challenge’BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street have a 20- to 30-year headstart in the ETF space, which in Europe alone has swelled to assets worth more than $1.1tn Standard Life Aberdeen chief executive Stephen Bird has plans to launch SLA into the ETF market. By David Ricketts Wednesday November 18, 2020 12:01 am Standard Life Aberdeen’s new chief executive has been in the top job for just over two months, but he already has grand plans about how he wants to transform the £511bn asset manager to compete with some of the world’s largest passive players. Former Citigroup executive Stephen Bird, who took over at the helm from Keith Skeoch in September, said he wants to propel SLA into the booming exchange traded funds sector, which at the end of September had assets of more than $1.1tn in Europe alone. SLA is known for its stock-picking capabilities. However, Bird has indicated the ideal active-passive split he wants to achieve is 70:30, according to an interview with Bloomberg on 12 November. “We can either buy proprietary ETF technology, buy an ETF business or build it,” he said. A spokesperson for SLA pointed to its acquisition of the US business of commodity ETF provider ETF Securities in 2018, where assets have doubled to $6bn. “Work is underway to build upon this success, by delivering our research and analytical strengths via ETFs,” said the spokesperson. However, analysts say making a concerted push into the ETF sector might be a tall order for the Edinburgh-headquarte “It will be quite a challenge to achieve this,” said David McCann, an analyst with Numis Securities. McCann said the biggest factor for success in the passive investment sector was possessing significant scale, due to the low fees index tracking products charge. Dominant players in the ETF sector also have significant muscle. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, oversees $490bn in ETF assets in Europe. The top three ETF providers in the region have control of more than 62% of the market. “Bearing in mind that BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street have a 20-30 plus year headstart, and certain European competitors like L&G, DWS, HSBC and Amundi also are well experienced in this market, it is really hard to see how this might work,” said McCann. McCann added that an acquisition is likely to be the only way Bird can achieve his goal of launching SLA into the ETF business. “However, if the ratio is 70:30, and assuming the current business were to stay the same, this implies that the passive business they’d be looking to achieve would be [around £200bn] in size,” said McCann. “That is still tiny compared to the passive businesses being run by BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, L&G [and others].” Tom Mills, an analyst with Jefferies, added the push into passives and ETFs with the ambition of building this capability to 30% of assets from scratch “is likely to come as a surprise to the market given competitive dynamics in that segment necessitate tremendous scale”. Mills said Lyxor — one of Europe’s largest ETF providers with around $84bn of assets and which is reportedly up for sale — could be a potential buying opportunity for SLA. Martin Gilbert, former vice-chair of SLA, told Financial News in August that Bird was likely to pursue deals to help build the asset manager. “Stephen will be really good on the organic growth front and on some selective M&A,” Gilbert said in August. “He has the strength of the balance sheet to build whatever he wants. I don’t think he’s taken the job to stand still.” Peter Sleep, a portfolio manager at Seven Investment Management who invests in ETFs, said building up a passive business would not be impossible for SLA, given its previous experience managing around £30bn in passive assets for Scottish Widows, before this was pulled in 2019. But significant scale would be needed in order to make profits, particularly in the ETF sector. “It is really hard to compete against BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard: the market megaliths. Margins are wafer thin and competition is intense,” said Sleep. “There are obviously lots of smaller players that they could buy, just for the experienced people to give a smoother start into ETFs,” he added. Nick Hyett, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said in order to succeed SLA will have to offer something existing ETF players do not. “Since passive funds should, at least in theory, be more or less identical in what they invest in, the only real differentiator is price,” said Hyett. “Really you need scale to compete on price, so its difficult to see how a fledgling SLA ETF offer could compete on that basis.” spud |
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