Abrdn reported client inflows and an uptick in assets under management during the first quarter of the year, signalling an improvement in performance at the troubled money manager.

The Edinburgh-based firm reported net inflows of £800 million (€931 million) in the three months through March, according to a statement on Wednesday. The assets it oversees rose to £507.7 billion from £494.9 billion at the end of 2023.

Chief executive Stephen Bird said in the statement that Abrdn’s cost transformation program was “on track” as the firm tries to achieve a “more acceptable level of profitability.”

Abrdn, which last year saw clients yank £17.6 billion from its funds, has been trying to halt a long stretch of outflows since its creation via a merger in 2017. Bird took over in 2020 but has been struggling to turn things around.

In January, the investment manager announced plans for another round of job cuts to rein in costs and said it would eliminate roughly 500 roles, or 10 per cent of its workforce, as part of a programme to save at least an annualised £150 million. – Bloomberg