Shares of Abrdn rose as much as 5% on Tuesday after it reported first-half results showing assets increasing slightly to £506 billion and total group net inflows of £800 million.

“This is a material improvement on both the first and second halves of last year,” said Abrdn.

But Abrdn provided no update on its search for a new chief executive officer amid some speculation interim CEO Jason Windsor would be confirmed in the role.

The Edinburgh fund manager reported assets under management and administration (AUMA) of £505.9 billion, 2% higher than FY 2023 “due to positive market movements and flows.”

First half outflows “excluding liquidity” slowed to £1.6 billion, from £4.4 billion in the same period last year.

The group posted adjusted first-half operating profit up 1% at £128 million, beating expectations, as it lowered its costs. Interim dividend was maintained at 7.3p.

Gross inflows improved to £31.3 billion from £27 billion in the first half of 2023 “reflecting strong inflows in liquidity, fixed income and quantitatives.”

Net outflows improved to £1 billion from £6.5 billion in H1 of 2023.

Net operating revenue was 7% lower at £667 million “reflecting the impact of outflows and the expected lower margins in Investments as well as the net impact of corporate actions.”

Adjusted operating expenses reduced by 9% to £539 million “reflecting good progress in achieving cost savings, including 11% lower staff costs (excluding variable compensation) and 9% lower non-staff costs.”

First-half IFRS profit before tax of £187 million (H1 2023: loss £169m) “included the gain on sale of the European-headquartered Private Equity business of £88m and lower losses of £(15)m (H1 2023: £(181)m) from the reduction in the value of the listed stakes held on our balance sheet.”

Interim CEO Windsor said: “In the first half of the year we have made an encouraging start as we become more efficient, and we enhance our propositions to lay the foundations for growth.

“We have three core businesses, with strong, scale positions in attractive markets and each has headroom to grow.

“While market conditions remain challenging, we are firmly on track to realise at least £150m of annualised cost savings by the end of 2025.

“These are solid foundations, positioning us for a step-change in performance and allowing us to invest further in growth.

“I am excited about the potential in Abrdn, and confident that by delivering against our priorities, we can deliver better outcomes for our clients, more attractive performance for our shareholders and nurture a culture that sustains long-term success.”

In its Investments business, Abrdn reported first-half net operating revenue 12% lower at £406 milion “due to net outflows and changes in the asset mix” and said adjusted operating expenses fell 13% to £372 million “reflecting cost savings across both staff and non-staff expenses.”

In the Investments business, adjusted operating profit was stable at £34 million, gross inflows improved to £31.3 billion (H1 2023: £27.0bn) “reflecting strong inflows in liquidity, fixed income and quantitatives” and net outflows improved to £1 billion (H1 2023: £6.5bn) “reflecting the higher gross inflows above partly offset by net outflows in Equities, Multi-asset and Insurance Partners.”

In its Adviser business, Abrdn reported net operating revenue 16% higher at £119 million “reflecting a £13m benefit of a revised distribution arrangement for services provided by abrdn to Phoenix in respect of the Wrap SIPP.” Adjusted operating profit was 33% higher at £65 million. Net outflows in Adviser of £2 billion (H1 2023: £0.6bn) “reflect elevated redemptions in the period, owing to the continued impact of the higher cost of living, further IFA consolidation and inflation beating cash saving options in the market.”

Abrdn said: “We are taking actions to address these net flow challenges including making further improvements to our service proposition following the short-term impact of a technology upgrade in 2023. We launched a new cash savings solution and announced a strategic reprice to achieve a highly competitive position in the market.”

In its Interactive Investor business, Abrdn said net operating revenue was 10% lower at £137 million “due to the sale of Abrdn Capital in 2023” and that excluding this revenue increased by 5% to £137 million “reflecting higher trading and FX fees.”

“Net customer growth (at Interactive Investor) in H1 2024 was 4% to 422k (FY 2023: 407k) reflecting growth in SIPP customers,” said Abrdn.

“Net inflows increased to £3.1bn (H1 2023: £1.8bn), representing 4.7% of opening AUA, driven by customer growth.”