Standard Life Aberdeen Share Discussion Threads

[mcunliffe1] 18/2/2019 09:43

1.066 million shares purchased Friday at the low point - average cost was £2.33

No particular change in volume as the day progressed and the slide in share price continued. Computer generated buying I suspect.

You could interpret this as a lack confidence that the bottom price has been reached, or, the whole thing is automated and unmanaged.

[kenmitch] 17/2/2019 17:56

Agree about the buybacks not having any effect on the share price. SLA is yet another example of a company failing to realise that if they must buyback it is best to try and do so at lowest prices possible and not nearly every day while the share price is in free fall. That way at least they buyback more for less outlay.

Also buybacks often reward those who want out as they can easily sell because there is a willing buyer in SLA, while those who stay loyally invested end up with heavy losses. Indeed an investor selling when SLA started buying back, and buying SLA back again now at current deflated price, looks a much better tactic than holding while the share is falling despite almost daily buybacks.

[fionascott1234] 17/2/2019 17:25

Begs the question, where would the price be without the buyback? It would give you the shivers!

[amer8] 17/2/2019 14:03

Don’t believe the dividend will be cut, or should I say hope not!

[meijiman] 17/2/2019 13:25

Hire a band of pipers to escort the deadly duo off the premises with their plastic bags

[essentialinvestor] 17/2/2019 12:47

I hold ASEI. However that fund has some holdings I would not personally touch
with a bargepole, GFRD, KIER, Majestic Wine, Staffline - which has now been suspended.

Their modelling, which I assume investment decisions are largely based on,
is in some cases leading to poor quality stock selection, just IMV.

Not good enough, simples.

[essentialinvestor] 17/2/2019 12:41

This is far more fundamental than an investment style out of fashion.

And in any case, recent volatility should have helped if that was the
main concern.

It's falling AUM as passives scoop up increasing amounts of investment capital.

The only real answer to that besides cost reduction, is benchmark outperformance,
and I see little of that.

If you take just one example, GARS, it's mainly a performance issue,
plus other alternatives now available.

[montyhedge] 17/2/2019 12:40

Dividend cut ?

[cyberian] 16/2/2019 22:13

MC..I agree, but I did use the word "credible" big hitters, but you are right some come with history that is not all that it seems. The issue is that future stars want to progress from a smaller base, whereas with SLA the task is huge and will take some time to correct...a big challenge for new recruits and perhaps too much pressure and uncertainty. We shall see how this unfolds over the next few weeks and how kind or not the market will react.

[mcunliffe1] 16/2/2019 18:40

cyberian,
your belief that Flint will need to bring in some credible big hitters" who will need to be "heavily rewarded" is exactly what we've had for a few years. Skeoch and Gilbert. They WERE big hitters and they ARE heavily rewarded.

How about getting some man or woman who actually knows what they are doing. Given time, and with success evident the press and the analysts will realise such without the need for a "big name".

We've witnessed these supposed smart guys - move from one company to another - often leaving chaos in their wake but with superb publicity departments that attribute to them skills and abilities that often, they do not possess. More often than not the publicity is generated by the company they are about to leave who, let's be honest, could hardly state the truth as they bloody well employed the person at the outset.

I really think there are too many over-bloated pillocks running our companies taking all the credit when things swing-along nicely but are coated in teflon when the brown stuff hits the fan. Skeoch and Gilbert are two fine specimens of the breed.

[topvest] 16/2/2019 17:38

It’s a case of sitting tight and waiting for their asset management style coming back into favour. Seems a lot of doom and gloom on this thread, but the group has a lot going for it, and no doubt will recover some of the lost ground. I’m holding firm and will think about doubling up as and when we see the results and the share price flattens off.

[cyberian] 16/2/2019 15:30

Big story in the Times as well today...looks like the new Chairman has a huge task ahead and turning the giant around will take time. They do have some solid assets to fall back on or should I say, a base to to try and re-group, however they need to bring in some credible big hitters asap. The latter will need to very heavily rewarded, and difficult to see whether any star names would wish to take the risk of joining SLA whose image has been undermined over the last year. This will all be down to how Chairman Flint gets the show off the ground and moving fast...any hesitation in clearing the present management mess will add further harm, and damage. Nervous time ahead...amazing how things can go wrong so fast and yet recovery can equally be either fast or slow, depending on how Flint makes his changes.Institutional support will need to be won, and a positive response from that quarter will be key.

[eeza] 16/2/2019 12:19

Average price 235p.

[cmackay] 15/2/2019 21:47

If MS have sold off Mitsi stake so easily, isn't it plausible we could see a TR-1 RNS or 2 come Monday?

[eeza] 15/2/2019 19:51

To cut the Dividend, having enacted a large buyback (and as yet incomplete) would be to cut their own throats.
But, perhaps, Flint will be co-opted as the assassin.

[ygor705] 15/2/2019 18:07

Very active board here today with a fair number of issues to ponder. The safety of the dividend would seem to me to be the critical issue for the immediate future and if SLAs prospects are so dire that it is a real possibility then I would have expected to have seen a profit warning from the Directors. To date, I cannot remember having see one although I am happy to be corrected if I have missed it. To my mind, a dividend cut without a profit warning raises serious questions of corporate mis-governance. I am waiting to see what March 13 brings.

[cyberian] 15/2/2019 17:28

FS...you are correct, sadly. tornado...further to your earlier post and my response the Evening Standard tonight puts the blame on Mitsubishi sell squarely down to Brexit.
What was or is confusing is why MS state that the deal was covered in under half and hour and amazed at positive level of investor reception during WALL CROSSING EXERCISE. It is the latter which I do not understand as usually that term means that an internal or connected vehicle sale has been executed. Hopefully someone here can correct me?
The further worry over the implication of a bad Brexit is that a top official at the Bank of England yesterday revealed Brexit has wiped £80 billion from Britain's economic growth since the Referendum in 2016. They say this equates to £800 million lost every week...more than twice the £350 million that the vote leave idiots claimed could be saved by quitting the EU...remember the 350 was a gross figure and very mis-leading. With Bank of America ML, stating on Thursday that they have moved many personnel, and funds etc to Dublin at a cost of £400 million, the drain out of the CITY is huge and unlikely to be reversed. Mind you the Rep. Ireland may be forced by the EU, (as has been indicated), that Republic of Ireland will have to re-align their tax rates to those of the EU, so, things could change in my opinion (would really hurt Ireland)...plus the UK may adopt some Singapore style measures. Brexit is a real mess and badly handled by the UK Government...Baker and Reece-Mogg are toss pots in my opinion...industry is at a loss as to where they stand gettin even more closer to the cliff edge, and the CITY may also see even more funds leak eleswhere.

[fionascott1234] 15/2/2019 16:57

They were on their uppers.

[grahamite2] 15/2/2019 16:10

I'm not sure how strong the reputation of Aberdeen was before the merger. Didn't they have quite a few funds that became valueless at the time of the crisis 10 years ago, not all of them marketed as very high risk?

[uppompeii] 15/2/2019 14:08

Cripes, it's normally Aviva that does this...

[eeza] 15/2/2019 13:55

Yes, MS took the shares onto their books and are offloading as fast as they can.

[cyberian] 15/2/2019 13:45

tornado12....MS are not investing in SLA, they acted as "book-runner", and appear to have unloaded the Mitsubishi stake really fast..eager buyer(s)...not sure? Again from what I have read the seller has been looking at its global exposure to the financial regulations matters/changes, and other concerns they have for that sector, and where better to employ their funds. So not unique to SLA necessarily,although it looks bad or perhaps worse at this time...Mitsubishi have belatedly decided to re-position their global exposures.