Abrdn cuts 20% of multi-asset investment team

Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn has confirmed it will cut more than 20% of its multi-asset investment team as part of a broader restructuring.

Staff have been told that at least 27 roles, including fund managers and investment specialists, will be offered voluntary redundancy.

Abrdn launched a review of the multi-asset unit, which has about 140 staff and oversees £180 billion of assets, earlier this year.

The division’s chief investment officer Aymeric Forest left Abrdn in February.

Abrdn manages about £500 billion in assets.

In a statement, Abrdn said: “Earlier this year we announced that Russell Barlow would assume responsibility for working with the Multi-Asset Investing Team (MAIS) team to redesign the end-to-end investment process, with a core focus on simplification and the establishment of a solid foundation from which we can scale and grow the MAIS offering.

“The starting point for the redesign was an open acknowledgement of the need for change, any restructuring decisions have and will be as a direct result of collaboration and engagement.

“The end state will ensure we have a strong, client-led proposition and the building blocks to ensure we are future fit.”