Abrdn Asia Focus manager Young to retire at the end of 2023

Bringing 43 year investment career to a close

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Abrdn Asia Focus trust manager Hugh Young (pictured) will retire at the end of 2023, bringing to an end a 43 year investment career.

Young, who is also chair of the group’s Asia Pacific business, has managed Asian equities for Abdrn since 1985 before founding Aberdeen Asia in 1992.

He was CEO of the Asia Pacific business until 2021, when he was succeeded Rene Buehlmann. He also stood down from his open-ended emerging markets funds five years ago.

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The £391m Abrdn Asia Focus trust said managers Flavia Cheong, Gabriel Sacks and Xin-Yao Ng would continue to manage the portfolio moving forward.

In the small-cap trust’s annual results, released this morning (20 October), chair Krishna Shanmuganathan said: “Hugh has worked tirelessly on behalf of the company since its launch and, both personally and on behalf of the board, I would like to thank him and wish him the very best for his well-earned retirement.”

Looking ahead, he added: “Abrdn Asia Focus remains positioned around Asia’s long-term structural growth themes, such as greater domestic consumption that comes with Asia’s rising affluence, booming infrastructure, the growth of digital, moving to a lower-carbon future, advances in health and wellness technology, and the opportunities offered by the rollout of 5G, big data and digital interconnectivity.”

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