Aberdeen Property Investors - Aberdeen Asset Management

More documents

Recommendations

Info

CEO’s statement A remarkable year for Aberdeen Financially, 2007 saw strong growth in revenues and profits which fully met our high expectations. Total revenue increased by 12% to €102.5 million (€92m in 2006) while profits rose by 38% to €23.5 million (€17m in 2006) with an overall margin of 23%. These results reflect the confidence in Aberdeen among new clients and the continued trust of clients with whom we have established long-term relationships. I am pleased to report that the financial year to 30 September 2007 was another highly successful one for Aberdeen Property Investors, with strong inflows of investments into both established and new property funds. Rickard Backlund, CEO Growth in assets under management 2007 was a year of strong organic growth in our property funds and the extension of our product range. During the year, we successfully continued our strategic transition towards property funds while maintaining our strength in management mandates. Fund management generated 59% of total income compared to 18% in the previous year. During the financial year to 30 September 2007, total AuM increased to €13.1 billion: up 39% on the previous year, primarily thanks to strong inflows of capital into our funds. Property fund AuM rose to 48% of total AuM, against 27% last year. Separate account asset and property management mandates remained stable with AuM at €6.8 billion at 30 September 2007. Increased AuM volumes benefit both Aberdeen and our clients. They enable us to negotiate the best terms for acquisitions and disposals, to strengthen and extend our local presence and gain rapid access to the best properties, including off-market deals. They also provide economies of scale in areas ranging from research to asset management, supporting our constant drive to manage our cost base. A healthy level of transactions We completed transactions of approximately €4.3 billion in the financial year, including our fund of funds products. This transaction rate reflects the growth of our funds and our philosophy of active management. 4 Aberdeen Property Investors 2007
New markets and new products through organic growth We continued to strengthen our geographical presence over the last year. In the UK we recruited a highly experienced team. We opened our first office in Russia, in St Petersburg, and recruited a well-established asset management team there, complemented by a dedicated Eastern European fund management team in Copenhagen. We plan to continue to increase our presence in continental Europe in order to extend our range of funds for institutional investors. During the year, we expanded our range of property funds with new funds for the Nordic region and Russia. We also continued to pioneer and lead the development of property funds of funds, successfully launching a second Asian and two more European funds of funds in 2007. A new venture, Scandinavian Property Development ASA, was set up, raised private placement capital from over 230 investors from ten countries, made its first three substantial acquisitions, and was listed on the Oslo stock exchange – all within the calendar year. Strategic acquisition In addition to this strong organic growth, the final days of December 2007 marked the strategic acquisition – scheduled for completion in April 2008, subject to the approval of BaFin – of the German fund manager DEGI (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Immobilienfonds mbH). This well-established business with strong management and a skilled work force is very complementary to our own. We now have a broader German client base and increased resources to advance our global property investments. DEGI has €6.4 billion of AuM invested in properties on a global scale, raising our total AuM at the start of 2008 to some €20 billion, a landmark in our growth. Looking ahead 2007 was a rewarding year for Aberdeen. Our priority is now to consolidate our achievements and build on them in a way that continues to respond to clients’ needs. that carefully assess and manage risk will continue to deserve and reward client confidence in our performance. Despite – or perhaps because of – this more challenging investment climate we are confident of continuing growth in institutional investors’ demand for international property vehicles that offer good risk-adjusted returns and the benefits of portfolio diversification. We see investors requiring more information to guide their choice of suitable funds and greater support in their decision making. We welcome this because it plays to Aberdeen’s strengths, including our long-held belief in cooperating closely with clients. In 2008, we aim to continue to grow our existing funds and build on their success in attracting investments from established and new clients. We shall also research and evaluate additional opportunities for funds in selected markets and sectors, carefully and in response to client demand. We plan to create one or more new funds in the UK where we now have the experienced resources on the ground to source and acquire assets at attractive prices and actively manage the assets acquired. The infrastructure sector is also an interesting niche market that we are evaluating. Consistent with our policy of placing the management of our funds in those offices closest to them and with the resources required, we plan to leave operational management of DEGI’s funds with the existing DEGI team in Frankfurt. This is now Aberdeen’s main office in Germany and we shall integrate our Cologne-based team into it. A priority in the current year is to approach DEGI’s considerable client base in order to offer our full range of collective funds. Finally, I would like to welcome our new employees to Aberdeen, including of course those from DEGI, and to thank all our people for their hard work and dedication to delivering superior performance on behalf of our clients and thereby contributing to what has been a remarkable year. Rickard Backlund CEO, Aberdeen Property Investors We are cautious about the outlook for property investment returns in 2008 and the short term future. The period when investors could count on a benign climate of strong capital appreciation and low interest rates appears to be over. Achieving good risk-adjusted returns from property in a more challenging investment climate will depend more than ever on a rigorous investment process and top quality active asset management. We believe that Aberdeen’s solid track record in these fundamentals and our long-held commitment to funds Annual Review 2007 5
Page 1 and 2: Aberdeen Property Investors Annual
Page 3 and 4: Our mission is to facilitate intern
Page 5: Highlights of the year Sustained or
Page 9 and 10: oader capital market has predictabl
Page 11 and 12: The three disciplines We apply our
Page 13 and 14: Annual Review 2007 11
Page 15 and 16: Case study - Customised pooling str
Page 17 and 18: Annual Review 2007 15
Page 19 and 20: Fund overview A wide range of funds
Page 21 and 22: Fund overview Direct property funds
Page 23 and 24: Fund overview Funds of funds API II
Page 25 and 26: Fund overview Summary of Aberdeen f
Page 27 and 28: Income statement € ’ 000 Revenu
Page 29 and 30: Group € ’ 000 SHAREHOLDERS’ E
Page 31 and 32: Anders Åström Frank Heeneman Glen
Page 33 and 34: Continental Europe Amsterdam Brusse
Page 35 and 36: This document is under no circumsta

Aberdeen Property Investors - Aberdeen Asset Management

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?