Aberdeen Group PLC (LSE:ABDN) shares were little moved as the fund manager and owner of the Interactive Investor (ii) platform posted third-quarter assets under management that were better than expected.
The FTSE 250 group reported assets under management and administration of £542.4 billion, up 6% since the start of the year.
Strong growth for ii continued, with customer numbers up 14% year-on-year and net flows of £1.9 billion, a 58% increase on the prior year.
The investment management arm saw net outflows of £1.8 billion, though these were down 49% year-on-year, with adviser outflows halving to £0.5 billion, reflecting improved service and repricing.
CEO Jason Windsor said the quarter had seen "good progress against the plan we set out in March".
He said ii has maintained "excellent growth, with transfers and trading activity at record levels and net inflows 58% higher year-on-year.
"Increasing brand awareness and a range of innovative new products launching soon mean the business is very well positioned to sustain its growth momentum."
For the adviser arm, he said the focus "remains on returning to growth and achieving our 2026 net flows target", while investments AUM benefited from "positive markets as well as net inflows in quants, alternatives and our targeted growth areas of fixed income and real assets".
Net flows for equities remained "challenging", despite a significant improvement compared to previous trends.
"Looking ahead, we are confident in our prospects as a Wealth & Investments Group, with the growth potential across all three of our businesses reflected in our 2026 targets."
The shares, which had risen 45% over the past six months, climbed 0.2% to 201.8p on Wednesday morning.
Analysts at Panmure Liberum said AUM was ahead of its expectations, driven by better than expected market movements, with net flows broadly in-line with forecasts.
They said ii "continues to shine" with customer growth remaining strong, "which matters far more than its AUM and flows".
"Consensus still fails to believe the company will achieve its 2026 profit targets, yet tangible progress has already been delivered and more buoyant markets mean the task has become a little easier. There remains significant value embedded within the group and therein lies the opportunity."