Shares in Abrdn PLC (LSE:ABDN) surged almost 8% higher after the asset manager and owner of the Interactive Investor platform revealed a positive inflow of investor money in the final quarter of last year.
In the fourth quarter, the FTSE 250-listed group welcomed a £0.5 billion net inflow in its core investments division, a turnaround from the £3.5 billion outflow in the third quarter.
This was helped by a £2.3 billion inflow for the wealth wing, which for the year a whole returned to a net inflow of £0.3 billion after sizeable outflows the year before.
The adviser division saw a net outflow of £0.9 billion in the quarter taking it to £3.9 billion for the year.
However, there was strong growth from the similarly sized Interactive Investor, which continued strong growth, with a net inflow of £1.4 billion that was the largest in the UK direct-to-consumer platform segment.
Inflows for 'ii' were positive over the full year at £5.7 billion as customer numbers grew 8% to 439,000.
Chief executive Jason Windsor said he expects a continuation of the platform's growth this year and hailed progress in the overall group transformation strategy, with costs cut by an annual run-rate of at least £100 million, and "on track" to take this to £150 million this year.
Adjusted operating profits for last year are expected to be in line with current market expectations.
He said there "remain challenges to overcome" for the investments wing but inflows were pleasing to see, while continued outflows for the adviser segment "are being addressed, with an absolute focus on an improved service and value proposition for our clients".