Aberdeen

Funds with heavy exposure to financials are at the bottom of the IMA China sector over six months, as China's banking reforms caused a savage sell-off in financial stocks.

Aberdeen's Bruce Stout, manager of the £1.6bn Murray International investment trust, has reduced his fixed interest exposure to its lowest level in 25 years, claiming there is little value left in the asset class.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have downgraded a number of asset management firms on fears some fund groups will see net outflows for the second quarter of this year.

ON EUROPE

Last week Aberdeen held a little party in London to celebrate its 30th anniversary - a remarkable achievement for a company which, at the turn of the century, did not look like it would last another three years, let alone 30.

A lack of further easing from the Japanese authorities coupled with fears over QE in Europe rattled markets today, sending the FTSE 100 to a seven-week low, with asset managers some of the biggest fallers.

London's leading equity index lost ground in afternoon trading, led by asset managers, as encouraging data from the services sector also failed to lift sentiment.

ON JAPAN

We are not even halfway through the year but already one of the big themes emerging for 2013 is the sheer number of prominent funds which have been soft-closed owing to capacity constraints.

Aberdeen Asset Management has completed a deal to buy US asset manager Artio Global Investors for £118.3m ($179.7m)