Unlock the Editor’s Digest at no cost
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly e-newsletter.
Stephen Bird has stepped down as chief executive of Abrdn after a four-year tenure set to be remembered for a rebranding that failed to revive the fortunes of the UK asset supervisor.
Abrdn stated on Friday that, “following the significant strategic repositioning of the company”, it was the fitting time for Bird to step apart.
Bird, who joined promising to show across the group after a profitable profession at Citigroup, will keep on on the firm till the tip of June to assist with a transition.
Chief monetary officer Jason Windsor, who joined the corporate in October, has been appointed interim chief executive whereas the board searches for a everlasting successor.
Bird’s departure follows a turbulent interval for the corporate, the highest-profile of quite a lot of UK asset managers which have confronted strain to decrease charges to compete with greater rivals.
Since Bird took the reins, Abrdn has twice been ejected from the FTSE 100 and the group’s shares have tumbled by roughly 30 per cent over the interval. He oversaw a much-ridiculed rebranding of the enterprise.
Abrdn stated the board and Bird had “together agreed that it is the right time” for brand spanking new management.
Windsor joined Abrdn after little greater than a 12 months as chief monetary officer of UK housebuilder Persimmon.
Samuel Johar, chair of board advisory group Buchanan Harvey, stated that Windsor had a robust likelihood of turning into Bird’s everlasting successor.
“He has substantial financial services experience and Abrdn cannot afford a vacuum for too long,” stated Johar, including that the corporate might grow to be a takeover goal.
Shares in Abrdn have been up simply over 1 per cent in early buying and selling on Friday.
During his tenure, Bird tried to diversify Abrdn by increasing its wealth administration enterprise and by promoting extra investments on to shoppers. In 2021, it purchased Interactive Investor, the UK’s second-largest client funding website by belongings.
He additionally restructured underperforming elements of the enterprise, together with promoting off Abrdn’s £7.5bn non-public fairness arm and offloading its 50 per cent stake in a three way partnership with the financial institution Virgin Money.
Sir Douglas Flint, Abrdn chair, stated that Bird “joined us as the pandemic took hold and, despite the restrictions this imposed, spearheaded a fundamental reshaping of the company, leading from the front to create a company that can be competitive in a fast-evolving sector”.