Ian Withers
LONDON (Reuters) – Abrdn Chief Executive Stephen Bird has resigned, the British fund manager said on Friday, after a turbulent four-year tenure marked by deep outflows of client cash and a heavily criticized rebrand.
Abrdn said the board and Bird agreed it was “the right time to hand over the reins” and CFO Jason Windsor will lead the company on an interim basis while the company begins the formal process of searching for a permanent CEO.
Abrdn shares rose 2% in early trading.
The company has struggled to turn around its fortunes after years of customers cashing out, and its difficulties were highlighted last year when it fell from Britain’s blue chips.
Bird has been trying to revitalize ABDRN by cutting jobs, trimming its fund range and expanding mass market investing through its takeover of the interactive online investor platform in 2022.
The company made headlines in 2021 after a widely ridiculed rebranding that removed vowels from its name to become abrdn rather than abrdn. Standard life (LON:) Aberdeen.
“We view the leadership change as an opportunity for someone to take a fresh look at the best strategy moving forward,” RBC analysts said in a note, adding that the change could lead to renewed calls from investors for the company to break up. companies, although they considered it a difficult task.
Abrdn said Bird will begin a 12-month notice period and that under the terms of his contract he is considered “good leave”, meaning he will be paid as usual and will still be entitled to unvested bonuses.
The statement added that Bird will go on gardening leave at the end of June after working with Windsor on the transition of responsibilities. Windsor became finance director of the Edinburgh company in October.
Active fund managers such as abrdn have struggled in recent years to compete with low-cost index trackers and investment options tied to soaring central bank rates, although the company reported improved first-quarter performance.
Trade and net flows in the second quarter showed similar trends to the previous three-month period, Abrdn said. Last month the company reported 0.8 billion pounds ($1.02 billion) of net capital inflows in the January-March period, while assets under management increased 3% to 507.7 billion pounds.
($1 = 0.7880 pounds)