Edinburgh-based investment firm Aberdeen Group plc said its profit before tax rose 72% £442m in 2025, a figure that included “a gain of £236m from favourable market movements in our stake in Standard Life plc (formerly Phoenix).”
Aberdeen Group said a “very strong” performance from its interactive investor business and a “continued focus on efficiency” helped to deliver a 4% increase in adjusted group operating profit to £264 million.
Group assets under management and administration (AUMA) were up 9% on last year to £556 billion “with growth largely driven by positive markets.”
Despite the results, Aberdeen Group shares fell as much as 8% in morning trading due to investor concerns over outflows as the stock gave up some of its strong gains over the past year.
At interactive investor, AUMA rose to £97.5 billion (2024: £77.5bn) “reflecting positive markets and record net inflows of £7.3bn (2024: £5.7bn)” and adjusted operating profit was up 34% “reflecting an excellent year of growth.”
The group said its Adviser business had lower profits, as expected, as it implemented its strategic repricing. “The implementation of our strategic repricing, alongside further improvements to service, helped to turn around outflows, which almost halved to £2.2bn (2024: £3.9bn),” said Aberdeen.
“The strategic repricing, which took effect for new customers in 2024 and was applied to Adviser’s back book in February 2025, had the expected impact on profitability.
“Alongside the reduced benefit from a temporary third party outsourcing discount, this resulted in (Adviser) adjusted operating profit reducing to £86m (2024: £126m). This was a necessary step to ensure our competitiveness.”
AUMA at the Adviser business were up to £80.4 billion (2024: £75.2bn), driven by positive markets.
Adjusted operating profit in the group’s Investments business increased 5%, as a reduction in revenue was offset by lower expenses. Aberdeen said that at Investments: “I&RW (Institutional and Retail Wealth) net outflows were £2.1bn (2024: £0.3bn inflows). Excluding liquidity, net inflows were £0.1bn (2024: £4.7bn outflow), with the improvement of £4.8bn driven by positive momentum in most asset classes.
“Insurance Partners net outflows increased to £6.8bn (2024: £4.3bn), reflecting heritage business in run-off.”
Full year dividend was maintained at 14.6p, taking total dividend payments for 2025 to £261 million.
Net outflows (excluding liquidity) improved significantly to £1.7 billion (2024: £6.1bn). Net outflows in the Investments business (excluding liquidity) of £6.7 billion (2024: £9.0bn) “mainly related to Insurance partners of £6.8bn (2024: £4.3bn), reflecting Standard Life’s heritage business in run-off.”
Aberdeen gave no news on a new chair to succeed Douglas Flint, who will step down on April 28.
Aberdeen Group CEO Jason Windsor said: “Our efforts over the last twelve months mean Aberdeen is in much better shape as we pursue our ambition to be the UK’s leading Wealth & Investments group. Our adjusted operating profit is up 4%.
“ii is undoubtedly one of the UK’s most exciting Fintechs, with strong growth in customers and profits testament to its competitiveness. With higher customer engagement, a pipeline of proposition enhancements and our compelling price point, we see significant opportunities for future growth.
“As expected, last year’s strategic repricing impacted profitability in Adviser. However, we have made progress, with net outflows almost halving year on year, and improved client service. We still have more to do, and our focus remains on returning to growth as quickly as possible.
“In Investments, cost discipline supported a 5% increase in adjusted operating profit, with revenues impacted by asset mix. In Institutional & Retail Wealth, gross flows (excluding liquidity) strengthened by over 50%, with improved investment performance.
“We have entered 2026 with momentum and remain firmly focused on delivering our 2026 Group targets and sustainable growth beyond this.”