LONDON (Alliance News) - Standard Life Aberdeen PLC said Tuesday its assets under management & administration were up in the first quarter of 2019, boosted by positive market movements and the asset manager's recent joint venture with the investment arm of CYBG PLC-owned Virgin Money.
At March 31, the Edinburgh-headquartered investment company reported assets under management & administration of GBP568.9 billion, 3.2% higher than the GBP551.5 billion reported at December 31.
The company's Strategic Insurance Partners assets increased 3.9% to GBP265.0 million. Standard Life Aberdeen's Institutional, Wholesale, Wealth & Digital assets increased 1.7% in the period to GBP254.4 billion.
The FTSE-100 listed investment firm attributed the rise in overall assets to "positive" market movements, but this was offset partly by the strength of sterling in the period.
Standard Life Aberdeen said its gross inflows were boosted by the GBP3.5 billion of assets from Virgin Money, which the company announced it was launching a joint venture with in January. Standard Life Aberdeen confirmed it was acquiring a 50% stake in Virgin Money's investment arm for GBP40 million.
The deal for a stake in Virgin Money Unit Trust Managers Ltd will see Aberdeen Standard services being offered to all CYBG customers, not just Virgin Money account holders. The joint venture is expected to clear regulatory approval by the third quarter but Standard Life Aberdeen has already taken on the discretionary management of certain investment portfolios.
The company's acquisition of Asia-based real estate manager Orion Partners also added assets of GBP700 million.
Standard Life Aberdeen said its net outflows "continue to be concentrated in a small number of strategies".
The Scottish asset manager expects to report its half year results on August 7.
Shares in Standard Life Aberdeen were up 0.4% Tuesday morning at 258.90 pence each.
