"It's obviously a concern that Aberdeen is going to lose some of the quality people that they have there," said Gavin Haynes, managing director at discretionary manager Whitechapel Securities. Mr Haynes said he would not be surprised if Aberdeen sought high profile hires as part of its recovery plans.
Ms Richards' move comes following a difficult time for both Aberdeen and M&G Investments. Shares in Aberdeen are trading at a near 12-month low after the asset manager revealed its eleventh consecutive quarter of net fund outflows last month. During the three months to December Aberdeen suffered £9.1bn of outflows, however this was down from £12.7bn during the three months to 30 September.
Meanwhile, M&G Investments experienced retail net outflows of £3.4bn during the first half of the 2016 financial year end, compared with net inflows of £3.8bn during the same time in 2014. A large chunk of this came from Europe, as investors dumped fixed income assets.
Darius McDermott, managing director at broker Chelsea Financial Services, reckons the fall in Prudential's share price is not so much a reflection of Ms Richards' abilities but the fact that, despite recent difficulties, M&G has previously been successful during Mr McLintock's 19-year tenure. The appointment of Ms Richards would likely have a limited impact on the performance of its funds. "From a fund buyer's perspective, CEO type appointments don't have a direct impact on a day-to-day basis," he said.
Aberdeen has suffered as investors have become nervy around the fund manager's exposure to volatile emerging markets. In its first quarter trading update last month the fund manager said its problems had been exacerbated by sovereign wealth funds in oil producing countries pulling their investments. Management also announced further cost savings beyond the £50m initially pledged, to be implemented in late 2016 and 2017. Outflows have also been amplified by the fact that in 2013 three of Aberdeen's high-profile emerging market funds 'soft-closed' to new money by implementing punitive charges to new investors.
Ms Richards first joined Aberdeen in 2003 as part of its acquisition of rival Edinburgh Fund Managers.
Aberdeen chief executive Martin Gilbert said: "While we are sorry to lose Anne we are also delighted that one of our colleagues should have been appointed to such an important role in the industry.
"Her appointment reflects well on Aberdeen and on the wealth of talent we have working at the company."
