Positive momentum towards successful delivery of 2026 plan

This morning, Aberdeen announced its Half year results for 2026. Highlights included 21% growth in adjusted operating profit, and a reiteration of confidence in the delivery of the 2026 Group targets.  

H1 2026 financial highlights: 

- Adjusted operating profit of £151m (up 21% vs H125) 

- Net operating revenue of £643m (up 2% vs H125) 

- Adjusted operating expenses of £492m (2% improvement vs H125) 

- Net capital generation of £182m (up 47% vs H125) 

- AUMA of £579.4bn (up 4% vs FY25) 

Chief Executive, Jason Windsor’s statement:   

Aberdeen has continued its positive trajectory through the first half of the year and we are confident in our ability to deliver the 2026 Group targets we set out. 

Notwithstanding major geopolitical events, markets have proven resilient so far this year. As ever, our focus has remained firmly on supporting our customers and clients to navigate this environment. I would like to thank them, as well as our colleagues and partners, for their continued support and commitment. 

Progress on our strategy and 2026 targets 

Building on our progress in 2025, in H1 2026 we have seen a clear step up in our profitability, strengthened our capital position and grown shareholder value. We have continued to execute against our strategy: 

interactive investor (ii): we delivered record net flows, and strong customer and profit growth while expanding our proposition and investing in the ii brand. 

Adviser: we have made progress in client service, however, flows need to improve and we are not yet where we want to be. We have appointed a new CEO, Rich Denning, who is focused on returning the business to growth. 

Investments: we delivered greater efficiency and focus and better investment performance in most asset classes and we have growing confidence in our pipeline. We are now focused on accelerating growth. 

In June, we were pleased to enter the FTSE 100, which is testament to the delivery achieved by the team across Aberdeen. We are focused on maintaining that momentum by delivering the Group's FY 2026 targets of adjusted operating profit of at least £300m and net capital generation of c.£300m.

Overview of H1 2026 performance 

The Group delivered a stronger financial performance in the first half of 2026, with revenue growth and improved efficiency supporting higher profitability and capital generation.

Record growth in ii underpinned a 21% year-on-year increase in Group adjusted operating profit to £151m (H1 2025: £125m), while net capital generation increased by 47% to £163m (H1 2025: £111m) driven by improved operating performance and our actions to unlock value from our DB pension scheme surplus. 

IFRS profit before tax of £276m (H1 2025: £271m) included gains of £100m (H1 2025: gains of £155m) from the change in the value of our 10% stake in Standard Life plc, as well as lower restructuring and corporate transaction spend. 

AUMA is up 4% over the first half, at £579.4bn (FY 2025: £556.0bn), with Group outflows (excluding liquidity) of £1.0bn (H1 2025: £0.5bn inflow). 

Capital update 

As noted at our Full year results in March, our capital position has further improved from the end of 2025, with our capital requirement now based on the Group's internal assessment. We have materially improved net capital generation over the past two years, whilst continuing to invest in growth areas. In line with our strategy to reduce debt, we intend to call our £0.2bn Tier 1 debt in December (subject to regulatory approval). 

interactive investor 

Strong momentum with profit up 18%1, record net flows and trading.

interactive investor continues to perform very strongly across all key measures. Customer numbers1 increased by 14% year-on-year to 525k, with SIPP customers up 35% to 125k. ii's highest-ever net inflows of £6.8bn were recorded for H1, with AUMA reaching £107.7bn (FY 2025: £97.5bn). Increases in treasury income (up 33%), trading revenue (up 9%, despite FX repricing to improve competitiveness) and DARTs (up 42%) further underline the momentum in the business. Adjusted operating profit for the first half was £84m (H1 2025: £71m1). 

Adjusted operating expenses increased by £6m, reflecting investment in brand, technology and capacity to support future growth. Our costs/AUMA ratio improved which demonstrates the scalability of the business as we seek to capture the long-term structural growth opportunity in UK wealth. 

The evolution of ii's pricing model has reinforced our competitiveness and appeal as we grow our customer numbers. We are focused on sustaining growth through continual improvements to our proposition, with the roll-out of ii 360 (our advanced trading platform) and ii Advice (our digital advice service) ongoing, and further opportunities to attract less confident investors onto the platform through services like ii Community (our social platform). 

These initiatives - underpinned by ii's compelling flat fee proposition and powered by improving our brand awareness - will help us to build on steady progression in market share across trading, assets and new accounts. The compound effects of a growing share of a growing market are set to support future growth. 

1. Excluding financial planning business. 

Adviser 

Broadly stable profit, net flows remain challenging with actions taken to return to growth.

In Adviser, adjusted operating profit was broadly stable at £41m (H1 2025: £42m), with higher net operating revenue driven by growth in AUMA, offset by higher costs following the end of a temporary third-party outsourcing discount. 

AUMA increased to £84.8bn (FY 2025: £80.4bn) reflecting positive market movements, partially offset by net outflows of £1.3bn (H1 2025: £0.9bn), within which gross inflows increased by £0.3bn and redemptions by £0.7bn. 

Rich Denning and his team are focused on driving profitable growth. In H1 we simplified the operational environment, including the in-sourcing of client operation teams from FNZ. We continued to focus on service, with our Net Promoter Score now up to +53, more straight-through processing and a 90% improvement in onboarding times for Wrap. 

Our focus now is on converting this work into sustainable commercial performance in a market where consolidation has changed the landscape. We are refining our distribution strategy, and by leveraging AI to help offer advisers lower friction, better integration and lower cost to serve, we are confident we can deliver to the evolving needs of the market. 

Our conviction in Adviser is unchanged. The proposition is strong, the platform works well, and the operational progress we have made gives us a much stronger base from which to improve flows over time. 

Investments 

Financial performance benefiting from lower costs.

Investments showed improving performance in the first half of 2026, with adjusted operating profit up 9% to £38m (H1 2025: £35m). This was driven by our continued focus on operational efficiency, with expenses down 3%, partly offset by slightly lower revenue that reflected the timing of performance and development fees. 

Investments AUM increased to £397.5bn (FY 2025: £390.4bn), benefiting from positive markets. Net outflows in Institutional and Retail Wealth (I&RW), excluding liquidity, were £5.6bn, which included the c.£4bn of lower margin equities withdrawals previously flagged. Insurance Partner outflows improved substantially to £0.8bn, which includes the benefit of asset allocation changes and DC workplace pension-related business from Standard Life. We are also seeing strong momentum across a number of our specialist areas, with £1.4bn of net inflows in Real Assets, positive flows in Wholesale in 10 of the last 12 months, and growing demand for geographic diversification benefiting our strategic focus on Emerging Markets. 

Investment performance continued to strengthen, with 86% of assets outperforming over the three-year period (FY 2025: 80%). Equities performance continues to improve, with positive momentum in our emerging market strategies and thematic funds. Despite the volatile geopolitical market backdrop, strong investment returns and outperformance continue to be delivered by our fixed income, liquidity, quantitative and alternatives teams. 

We continue to make good progress in restoring growth and profitability to Investments. In H1, we demonstrated our ability to grow our Closed End Fund franchise through acquisitions. We are preparing to welcome the Herald team to Aberdeen in August. The team manages the Herald Investment Trust and Herald Worldwide Technology Fund (£0.8bn of AUM), enhancing our technology investing capabilities. This transaction is expected to close imminently. 

We remain focused on accelerating growth across our highest-conviction opportunities, including Private Markets, Emerging Markets, Quant strategies and commodities ETFs - supported by product innovation, enhanced distribution capabilities and deeper strategic partnerships. 

People and culture 

A healthy culture is the essential ingredient for success. I am proud of the way colleagues across the Group have united behind our plan. 

We have a number of new members on our Executive Leadership Team (ELT). As noted above, in May, Rich Denning joined as Adviser CEO. In June, Caroline Macefield joined Aberdeen as Chief Internal Audit Officer. I also invited Mark Thomas, Chief Strategy Officer, and Alain Courbebaisse, our Group Deputy COO and Investments COO, to join the ELT. 

Looking ahead to H2 2026 

We are confident in our ability to deliver our 2026 Group targets. Although financial markets can be turbulent, the fundamental dynamics continue to offer long-term attractive growth opportunities for our Wealth businesses. 

Following ii's strong performance in H1 2026, we expect further growth in the second half of this year and beyond. The opportunities for growth in Adviser are expected to continue as the IFA market rapidly develops. In Investments, lower costs, better investment performance and a focus on specialist areas of strength set us up for future success. The Stagecoach and MFS transactions announced last year, together with the Herald transaction, are also set to deliver a positive impact. 

AI is emerging as a meaningful enabler of growth and efficiency across the Group. Building on strong adoption to date, we will continue to focus AI capabilities on delivering leading customer outcomes, increased productivity and long-term value creation. I am also pleased that, as we roll-out Copilot across the business, colleagues are embracing the opportunity to learn and implement AI. 

Closing comments 

Our aspiration is to become the UK's leading Wealth and Investments group. We are now laying the foundation for our next phase of growth. Our focus will remain on consistent execution and improving performance and proposition, while delivering better outcomes for customers and clients and creating lasting value for our shareholders. 

A year and a half into the delivery of our strategy, while my team and I take some satisfaction from our progress, we are impatient to go further in achieving our true potential. 
 
Learn more and access the full results document here.