Abrdn has said investment management is "the core" of its business after reports that its chief executive Stephen Bird pushed to sell off this part of the company.
Reports emerged yesterday that Bird had been blocked from selling Abrdn's £368bn investment management arm by the company's board.
But responding to the reports, Abrdn highlighted its recent investments in this sector which were aimed at growing this part of the business.
The disagreement reportedly followed Abrdn's purchase of online investment platform Interactive Investor in early 2022.
Abrdn's share price is down 15 per cent over the past 12 months and the company recently dropped out of the FTSE 100.
Amid this, the Edinburgh-based company has been simplifying itself by selling off parts of its business, including its private equity and venture capital business and its DFM arm.
But a spokesperson for Abrdn said: "Strategy is about asking questions and testing alternatives. We do that in every strategy session. We have an agreed strategic direction that we are executing against at pace.
"Investment management is the core of our business, and we are making it more efficient and more relevant to our clients. We recently announced the successful acquisition of Tekla Capital which enhances our health and life sciences capabilities in investments, an area of significant growth potential in the years ahead."
Beyond its investment management arm, Abrdn also has a platform and financial planning division.
This includes two platforms, which hold some £72bn of assets, and a personal finance arm which has £55bn of assets, which includes Abrdn Financial Planning and Interactive Investor.
damian.fantato@ft.com
