LONDON: FTSE 100 money manager Aberdeen Asset Management released its final results and the big takeaway is that investors are terrified by the possibility of an Asian and emerging market crash.
First, the good bits: Aberdeen’s revenue is up 5% to £1.16 billion ($1.74 billion), underlying profit is up £1.3 million ($1.95 million) to £491.6 million ($739.1 million), and dividend raised by 0.75p to 12p.
But there’s a glaring red mark on Aberdeen’s homework — assets under management fell by almost 10% to £283.7 billion ($426.5 billion), “reflecting negative sentiment towards Emerging Markets.”
The money manager had clients pull a whopping £33.9 billion ($50.9 billion) out of accounts in the year and the main reason was a growing fear that emerging markets are about to go down the toilet, fast. HSBC and Goldman Sachs are among the banks sounding off the most high-profile warnings.
