Aberdeen revamps multi-manager arm

Aberdeen Asset Management has rebranded its multi-manger and multi-asset arm to Aberdeen Solutions following the proposed merger of multi-managers Graham Duce and Aidan Kearney's fund range last December.

Aberdeen Solutions, previously known as the Alternative Investment Strategies business, has around £24 billion under management and includes a variety of pooled investment approaches including fund of hedge funds and fund of private equity funds.

‘In the wake of the financial crisis, there is significant interest from both institutional and retail investors in multi-asset or multi-manager solutions and outcome orientated investment. Aberdeen Solutions is well placed to cater for this growing demand with a broad range of pooled products and the expertise to construct bespoke portfolios,’ said Anne Richards, chief investment officer at Aberdeen.

At the end of last year, Aberdeen announced it was seeking to consolidate its multi-manger range with five proposed mergers.  The firm plans to merge the £17.7 million Aberdeen Multi-Manager UK Growth Portfolio, £25.5 million Multi-Manager International Growth Portfolio and £12.3 million Aberdeen Multi-Manager Emerging Markets Portfolio with the Aberdeen Multi-Manager Equity Managed Portfolio, which is currently around £56.3 million in size.

Graham Duce and Aidan Kearney, who manage a range of multi manger funds for Aberdeen, have underperformed the average manager according to Citywire data. Both have returned 32.44% over a three year period versus the average manager’s performance of 39.21% over the same period.