Abrdn’s beleaguered share price has pepped up following an announcement it plans to return £300m to shareholders through a buyback programme.
The FTSE 100 fund group will repurchase up to £150m worth of ordinary shares in the first phase being undertaken by Goldman Sachs. Purchasing will begin today and run through to the end of the year.
By midday, shares in Abrdn had risen over 8% to £1.62 a pop. Year-to-date, its share price is still down over 35%, however, it has held up better than other rivals like Jupiter (-49%) and Liontrust (-58%).
The share buyback is a sign Abrdn is shifting gears from its acquisitive strategy over the past several years. As part of chief executive Stephen Bird’s (pictured) vision to transform the business and enhance its digital capabilities, it has acquired Finimize, as well as a stake in wealthtech platform Nucoro. Its most significant deal was acquiring Interactive Investor for an eye watering £1.5bn.
It is not the only fund group to take advantage of buying back shares at a steep discount.
M&G unveiled plans to buy back £500m worth of shares in March, taking a page from Man Group, which announced $350m (£294m) worth of share buybacks in 2021. Last week, it revealed it would buy back another $125m (£105m) worth of shares over the next year.
This approach has been beneficial for both groups, with M&G’s shares down only 9.% year-to-date, while Man Group’s are up 6%.
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