The news that Martin Gilbert is to step down from Aberdeen Standard Investments will mark the end of a remarkable journey where he has overseen the growth of a small asset manager into a major global player.
Ryan Hughes, head of active portfolios at AJ Bell, said: “Gilbert has been one of the most acquisitive CEOs in the past 30 years, always looking for an opportunity to grow this business with a series of both small and larger purchases that built Aberdeen into a truly diversified asset manager. Working closely with fund manager Hugh Young, Aberdeen became the default choice for Asian and emerging market equity exposure and gained support from retail investors right through to large institutional players which drove huge growth in the asset manager.
“The merger with Standard Life in 2017 marked the start of Gilbert’s transition away from the firm and with the joint CEO role that he initially took on, it was clear that over time one would step away from the business when the time was right.
“After a long and successful career, Gilbert has certainly left his mark on the UK asset management industry.”
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