Trading on Aberdeen's interactive investor Falls 22% From First-Half Peak

Interactive investor (ii), the UK retail platform owned by Aberdeen Group, averaged 28,100 retail trades a day in the July-to-September quarter, 22% below the 36,100 recorded in the previous three months, the asset manager said on Wednesday.

Even so, activity remained 6% above the 26,600 daily trades posted a year earlier. Aberdeen described the second quarter as the peak of a rally that began in late 2025, with that period marking the highest level across the seven quarters the company now discloses. Chief executive Jason Windsor said trading was "well above last year's average, albeit lower than the elevated levels earlier this year."

Inflows and customers keep climbing

Net inflows reached £2.5 billion (about $3.3 billion), up 32% from £1.9 billion a year earlier, although down from £3.8 billion in the second quarter, which Aberdeen characterised as a seasonally quieter period. Customer numbers rose 8% to 533,000, and self-invested personal pension (SIPP) accounts grew 34% to 131,000. Assets climbed to £111.8 billion, 19% higher since the end of 2025 on the back of market gains, while customer cash eased to £8.3 billion from £8.6 billion at the end of June but stayed roughly £1 billion above year-earlier levels. Year-to-date inflows of £9.3 billion are 58% higher than in the first nine months of 2025.

Citing BWC Benchmarking data, Aberdeen said ii handled 30% of UK cash-market retail trades and held 21% of all platform assets in the second quarter. For comparison, London-listed AJ Bell reported 762,000 customers and £3.0 billion of net inflows for April to June, with £121.5 billion under administration; it has not yet published July-to-September figures. Aberdeen's asset figure includes both assets under management and administration.

The platform's cash balances face a policy change from April 2027, when the cash ISA allowance for under-65s falls to £12,000 and a 22% charge applies to cash interest held in stocks and shares ISAs. Elsewhere within Aberdeen, the group recorded £0.3 billion of net outflows in the quarter, with its Adviser platform losing £0.7 billion for a second consecutive period and the Investments arm shedding £2.0 billion, driven largely by £2.5 billion leaving Insurance Partners from Standard Life's legacy book in run-off. Group assets under management and administration stood at £578.9 billion at the end of September, 4% higher than at the close of 2025.

Aberdeen reiterated its 2026 targets of at least £300 million in adjusted operating profit and around £300 million in net capital generation. In October it sold half of its Standard Life stake for about £430 million and said it will redeem £210 million of Additional Tier 1 debt in December.