abrdn has expanded its global closed-end Funds business with reorganisation of two US funds acquired from First Trust Advised Funds.

Last week, the New York listed abrdn Income Credit Strategies Fund (NYSE: ACP) (ACP') and abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund (NYSE: ASGI) (ASGI) completed the reorganisation of two closed end funds acquired from First Trust Advised Funds.

This reorganisation has resulted in an increase in abrdn’s closed end funds AUM of c.£0.5bn, approximately 90% of which will be reflected in its Direct Market Credit portfolio, with the balance within its DM Equities portfolio.

abrdn said in a statement on 4 October that it is one of only two managers globally, the other being BlackRock, with experience of managing and launching closed end funds in the UK and US at scale.

First Trust/abrdn Global Opportunity Income Fund (NYSE: FAM) has merged with ACP while Macquarie/First Trust Global Infrastructure/Utilities Dividend & Income Fund (NYSE: MFD) has merged with ASGI.

There were no changes to the current investment objective, strategies, structure, or policies of ACP or ASGI as a result of the reorganisations that were effective on September 23, 2024.

Christian Pittard, head of investment companies, abrdn, said: “We are proud to welcome the First Trust shareholders to the abrdn fund family as we continue to commit capital to support and strengthen our closed-end fund offerings, both in the UK and US. We continue to view this sector as a core area of growth for our business.

“Our experience of managing and transacting on closed-end funds both in the US and UK not only strengthens our capabilities, but also puts us in a unique position to provide input on industry issues on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, the cost disclosure rules have been a case in point, where we have been able to compare and contrast the regulatory environment and witness how this has played out in the differing landscape for UK versus the US.

“We continue to invest to grow and support our global range of closed end funds. In the US, we have onboarded 19 closed-end fund mandates since 2009. In the UK, this year we invested the equivalent of around six months of management fees in the shares of our UK listed investment companies, underpinning our firm commitment and long-term optimism in both the investment company business and the value of the underlying assets - a move we have seen no other asset manager follow across an entire closed-end fund range.”

abrdn are now the 5th largest manager of closed-end funds globally by AUM with £23bn AUM and 32 listed closed-end funds/investment companies in the US and UK (Source, Morningstar to 9 July 2024).

History of abrdn’s involvement in US closed-end funds:
• Onboarded 19 closed-end fund mandates since 2009.
• In April 2018, proactively consolidated 8 single country and regional closed-end funds into 1 fund with a new strategy providing investors with a more sustainable, long-term future.
• In 2023, merged 4 funds from Macquarie Asset Management into 3 existing abrdn funds, and transitioned management contract of the Delaware National Municipal Income Fund.
• In 2023, hired Healthcare, Biotechnology and Life Sciences Equity specialist investment team from Tekla Capital Management and was appointed as manager of four healthcare closed-end funds (rebranded as abrdn) previously managed by Tekla Capital Management.
• In 2024, merged two First Trust closed-end funds into ACP, and one First Trust closed end fund into ASGI.
• New capital raises via secondary offerings, rights offerings and at-the-market issuance programs.