Upbeat AAM sees bargains emerging

MARTIN Gilbert, the chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management, has said "real value" is emerging in UK property and financial shares after recent heavy falls.

Ahead of its annual general meeting yesterday, AAM revealed it had continued its stunning growth during the depth of the credit crunch, despite a rise in client withdrawals.

Scotland's largest independent asset manager said funds under management were £102.9 billion, as of 31 December, slightly ahead of a quarter earlier.

Gilbert said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the prospects for the markets as a whole, and noted that recent falls had created bargains in certain sectors.

"Property stocks and some of the financials are looking increasingly good value, certainly within buying range. They may well get cheaper, but I think there's real value there," he said.

Helped by acquisitions, assets under management increased by a third during 2007, a rate Gilbert did not expect to continue, saying AAM would be "happy with any growth at all".

Along with a general move from equities to bonds, he said clients had been "top slicing" from emerging market portfolios to lock in profits, but maintained emerging markets still offered the best long-term growth prospects.