Give to gain: A day in the life of Aberdeen's Amanda Yeaman

Aberdeen believes strongly that a diverse workforce is the key to better decision-making. Citywire ranks Aberdeen fourth among major asset managers for gender diversity ¹, with more than 40% of investment teams made up of women across fixed income, real assets and equities.

As we mark International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the women whose perspectives strengthen investment outcomes. In this spirit of Give to Gain, we ask two of our female fund managers to share their approach to investing, decision-making and collaboration.

In this article, Amanda Yeaman, Co-Manager of Aberdeen UK Smaller Companies Growth Trust (AUSC), reflects on her path into fund management and explains how judgement, collaboration and a disciplined, people‑focused approach shape her investment decisions.

What led you to be a fund manager?

I studied economics and accountancy at university, so I’ve always been interested in how businesses work, what drives their growth and what sets great companies apart.

Did you start with a strong interest in financial markets?

I didn’t begin with the classic story of following markets from a young age. Instead, my interest grew naturally through experience, particularly early in my career as a sell-side broker. That role gave me exposure to companies of every size and at every stage of their development. Meeting management teams quickly became my favourite part of the job. I loved hearing directly from the people driving the strategy, culture, and ambition in the business. It opened my eyes to how dynamic and people-driven investing really is.

What does a typical day look like for you?

As a working mum, my days are full, so I’ve learned to be extremely efficient and productive. My mornings start very early, and I’m usually catching up on company results first thing and discussing them with my colleagues, digesting anything that might affect the portfolio before the day begins in earnest. Within our global small cap team, we’ll discuss market movements, company updates, and earnings calls. This helps us hone our perspective on different companies and the market as a whole.

I love the variety, no two days are the same. The rest of the day is usually a mix of company meetings, research, team debate, and portfolio decisions. We often meet with companies, where we talk to the management teams to get their perspective on their current conditions for their business. Ahead of these meetings, we will have worked hard with our analysts to understand a company’s position, and the right questions to ask.

In the time between meetings, we will be looking at portfolio decisions, reviewing our positions or debating ideas. At Aberdeen, our approach is collaborative. We believe that debating ideas, bringing in different perspectives, leads to robust decision-making. All portfolio decisions, position reviews, risk and exposure assessments are made as a team.

When I have time, I also need to fit in writing client reports, preparing fund commentary, plus meeting preparations.

What are the most important skills you need?

You need to be able to digest a lot of information from many different sources, but also to discriminate between what is useful and what is ‘noise’. Prioritising what is important is vital – any given day can have big curve balls.

Financial analysis skills are a necessity. Every fund manager needs to have an understanding of accounting, business models and capital allocation, plus an ability to interpret data and financial statements. It is important to understand risk and have portfolio construction discipline.

However, it is not all about financial analysis. Soft skills are equally important. Building relationships and getting the most out of company meetings can be just as important in good decision-making. Judgement matters – you need to know when to act and when to hold back.

Qualifications help – I have the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification, along with most of my colleagues - but they’re not the differentiator. There are some elements of the role you can only learn with experience.

What are the biggest challenges?

Markets are unpredictable. You’re making decisions with lots of inputs and in different environments. Equally, your performance is visible. You are constantly compared to your peer group and the wider markets, which can be stressful during difficult periods. You need to balance conviction with humility. Getting things wrong is part of the job, but you need to invest with conviction and learn from your mistakes.

Time management is also important. New information emerges constantly, so managing your workload is essential. The most stressful moments usually come when you’ve done the work, but markets move against you anyway. That’s when our process matters most.

How do you approach company analysis?

We have a well-defined investment process based on bottom-up fundamentals and meeting with company management teams. We look at a management team’s track record and strategic clarity. The culture of a business is also important and can be a significant part of its success or failure, so we want to make sure we understand that.

Elsewhere, we’re looking at a business’s quality, the competitive moat that it has around its business. We want to see clear competitive advantage and barriers to entry, plus strong return on capital. Then we’re also looking at financial factors – debt, cash generation, balance sheet strength.

Finally, valuation is important. Great companies can be poor investments if the valuation is wrong. We are looking not just at what a company trades on now, but its valuation compared to its broader, long-term prospects. For that, we need to look at the long-term drivers of the industry in which it operates, how it is adapting to change, whether it can broaden into new markets, and its ability to innovate.

We are very fortunate to get great access to management teams and to get to talk to them directly to build our view. Numbers matter, but so does judgement.

What media do you consume for your job?

There are certain publications that are a necessity. I couldn’t do my job without the Financial Times, Bloomberg and some industry research, for example. I have to read company reports and earnings transcripts. However, I also enjoy podcasts on business strategy, investing, and behavioural decision making. They can provide real insights that aren’t available elsewhere. We will also look at specialist research in sectors that matter to our portfolios.

What do you find rewarding about the job?

The best part of fund management is the proximity to great management teams. There is a real buzz in backing great companies, their people and their ideas. The companies in our portfolio are at the heart of UK economic growth and prosperity, and it’s a privilege to be able to participate in that.

Important information

Risk factors you should consider prior to investing:  

Issued by abrdn Fund Managers Limited, registered in England and Wales (740118) at 280 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4AG, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

The Aberdeen UK Smaller Companies Growth Trust Key Information Document can be obtained here.

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