'The writing has been on the wall for some time' for abrdn's GARS

Industry reacts to fund demise

abrdn’s decision to stop its Global Absolute Return Strategies fund from operating as a standalone vehicle and fold it into its diversified assets range has received strong reactions across the industry.

Several analysts and managers said it was high time the fund was put to rest after it lost the vast majority of its assets - from nearly £27bn at its peak in May 2016 to just under £860m as of the end of June 2023, according to data from Morningstar Direct. abrdn to merge GARS into diversified asset funds Ben Yearsley, investment consultant at Fairview Investing, said it was "about time" the strategy was "put out of its misery" considering its concept has not worked for several years and has been "superseded by newer diversified strategies". Paul Ilott, managing director of Scopic ...