Aberdeen Asset Management is set to become one of Europe’s largest asset managers after it announced its intention to purchase the Lloyds-backed Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP).

Although the deal will cost Aberdeen a hefty £550m – with an additional £100m payment conditional on five-year performance – it gives the asset manager a total combined assets under management of £336bn, making it a major player in the European market.

Chief executive Martin Gilbert has highlighted the exclusive long-term distribution relationship with Lloyds Wealth through its investment solutions division, bringing over some £15 billion in assets, as a key motivation behind the deal.

From a pure investment perspective, the deal is a good fit and makes Aberdeen an even bigger player in the likes of emerging markets, bonds, multi-asset and property markets.

As for SWIP, the writing has been on the wall for some time given that many of their funds have been perennial underperformers and have been cited in many ‘dog lists’ used by many investors to steer clear of poor funds. Aberdeen is understood to have beaten the likes of Australian group Macquarie and Natixis to the deal.

The bigger picture is the latest high profile asset management deal in the midst of a market which is starting to show signs of consolidation. Other notable deals included Schroders acquisition of Cazenove in March, as well Miton’s acquisition of PSigma Asset Management and Liontrust’s acquisition of North Investment Partners in July and October respectively.

Are the lines beginning to be drawn on who will be the winners and losers in the UK asset manager space in the next few years?

Aberdeen ‘strategic alliance’ with Scottish Widows is part of a bigger plan to steal business from US investment groups like BlackRock and Vanguard following the deal. It’s a dramatic turnaround for an asset management business that was hit hard by the split capital investment trust scandal in the late 1990s, something the former regulator the FSA branded as the worst-case of misconduct it had ever seen at one point.

In short, it appears the wallets are out as many of the asset managers look set to flex their muscles in a market where size has never mattered more. займ онлайн займ на карту онлайн на годонлайн займ для студентовзайм по одному документу