Abrdn and Baltic Classifieds: Big director share deals this week

No one knows a company quite as well as its directors, which is why it is worth keeping an eye on their buying and selling of shares. 

We have combed through UK directors' deals and published the purchases and sales that caught our eye. Our table is compiled using company announcements and is not exhaustive.

Find out which company shares are being bought by their own directors this week and keep an eye on those which are being sold. 

New Abrdn chief builds stake

Abrdn (ABDN) has had its fair share of highs and lows – and the emphasis has been on the latter in recent years. It has been kicked out of the FTSE 100 twice in the past three years, and has been plagued by stubbornly high costs, fund outflows and a lack of strategic direction. 

Things seemed to be picking up in the summer when the asset manager returned to statutory profit. However, it disappointed the market again in October when its assets under management came in slightly lower than expected at £507bn. The miss was driven by continued outflows from equities – particularly emerging market funds – disappointments in fixed income, and a weaker than expected benefit from market movements. The shares lost more than a fifth of their value as a result. 

Abrdn has also been dealing with boardroom change. Stephen Bird stepped down as chief executive this summer, and finance chief Jason Windsor – who only joined the company from Persimmon in October 2023 – stepped in as interim head. 

Windsor has now been appointed as permanent chief executive, and is betting on the company’s fortunes. Just before Christmas, he bought 357,635 shares for 139p each, or £500,000 in total. 

Analysts at Panmure Liberum are also optimistic, saying Windsor may stand “a better chance of rising to [the] challenge than his predecessor”.

“The challenges facing Abrdn have long been obvious. Equally obvious was that the challenges were beyond the previous chief executive,” they said.

The backdrop for the sector as a whole also appears to be improving. Credit ratings agency Moody’s has upgraded its outlook on asset management from negative to stable for 2025, reflecting expectations of looser monetary policy.

“We expect the improved operating conditions to help accelerate the pace of global economic growth in the coming year, providing a healthy boost to investor confidence and company assets under management,” the agency concluded.