Citi downgrades Abrdn, Jupiter to 'sell'

Citi downgraded Abrdn and Jupiter Fund Management to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’ on Friday as it took a look at European asset managers.

"Markets have fallen and European traditionals have de-rated to 10x from 12-13x but we still see risks to the downside, given weak near term fundamentals (flows and earnings; Citi estimates are -9-11% below consensus) while self-help is largely played out," the bank said.

"We see downside risks for almost all names, but see the biggest risk of disappointment at Abrdn and Jupiter, both of which we downgrade to sell, while we downgrade DWS to neutral."

Citi also said it was opening "negative catalyst watches" on Ashmore amid weak performance trends, as well as Abrdn and Jupiter, due to weak flows and results.

The bank downgraded its stance on the sector to ‘underweight’.

At 1225 BST, Abrdn shares were down 3.3% at 154.55p, while Jupiter shares were 4.4% lower at 141.60p. Ashmore was down 3.5% at 214p.