Latest news with #StephenBird
Business Mayor
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Phoenix plots rebirth as Standard Life
Unlock the Editor's Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Phoenix Group, the UK's largest savings and retirement business, is nearing a decision to rebrand as Standard Life, in a move that would bring the historic brand back to the London Stock Exchange. The FTSE 100 pensions provider is considering a name-change within the next 12 months, according to a person familiar with the situation. 'Standard Life is a strong brand with 200 years of history and the brand we are using to grow our business across three markets,' Phoenix said in a statement, adding that the change had not yet received approval from the board. Standard Life traces its roots back to 1825 as an assurance company in Edinburgh. The group, which expanded more broadly into insurance and fund management, merged with asset manager Aberdeen in 2017 to create one of the largest investment houses in Europe at the time. Under former chief executive Stephen Bird, the group switched names from Standard Life Aberdeen to Abrdn, although the rebrand was widely mocked. The company returned to the Aberdeen name earlier this year. The fund manager sold the Standard Life brand to Phoenix Group in 2021 as part of a strategic partnership between the two companies. 'Ultimately success will rest on how well the Standard Life brand can balance authority, legacy, and reputation with the holding company's need for innovation, clarity and portfolio breadth and depth,' said Philip Davies, Emea president of brand consultancy Siegel & Gale. 'Don't expect to see stndrd lf anywhere anytime soon,' he added. After re-entering the individual annuity market in 2023, Standard Life built a 12 per cent market share by the end of last year, with £1bn in individual annuity premiums written in 2024. The business wrote £5.1bn in premiums in the bulk purchase annuity market last year, Phoenix said, as it sought to increase its share of the lucrative transactions in which an insurer takes over a company's responsibility for meeting obligations to pensioners. Phoenix had earlier this year announced a plan to merge its pension and asset management arms, along with announcing the planned retirement of Standard Life chief executive Andy Curran. As part of the rebrand, chief investment officer Mike Eakins was promoted to oversee a new division combining the two units.
BBC News
04-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Abrdn adds back vowels after widely mocked rebrand
Investment firm Abrdn will add the vowels back into its name after dropping them in a rebrand that was widely mocked. The firm said it will now be called aberdeen group, with no capital letter at the start. In the past it has been Aberdeen Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management. Its rebrand to Abrdn in 2021 was largely derided, with some saying it seemed like a typo, and others joking the firm had "irritable vowel syndrome". The company said the mockery amounted to "corporate bullying". Chief executive Jason Windsor said the latest name change would remove "distractions". "This is a pragmatic decision marking a new phase for the organisation," said chief executive Jason Windsor, as he revealed a strategy revamp. However, some people commented that while the company had found its vowels, it still hadn't found its capital letters. 'Lv Abrdn aln' The firm has faced a barrage of mockery over the last four years since rebranding to Abrdn under previous boss Stephen Bird. It attracted reaction on social media with one user posting a mock-up of word game Countdown. The letters ABRDN are shown on the letter board behind presenter Rachel Riley, with the words "another consonant please Rachel..." A new version of the image was posted on Tuesday with one user joking that reinstating the vowels was responsible for the firm's share price rising. When a senior executive said in 2024 that mockery around its name was corporate bullying, the Financial Times responded by publishing a post that read "Lv Abrdn aln" (Leave Abrdn alone), while City AM ran with a front page that read "Abrdn: an apology - sry we kp tkng th pss ot of yr mssng vwls". Rebrands for big firms have in the past proven tricky to navigate. Royal Mail, for example, caused a public outcry after it suggested a name change to "Consignia" in 2002. A few years ago, Volkswagen was greeted with derision after an April Fool's joke misfired. The German car giant was forced to deny that it was changing its name to "Voltswagen" in the US, despite having said in a press release that it would. Tuesday's announcement from aberdeen group came as it revealed a return to profit in 2024 with pre-tax profits of £251m. The firm also said it was starting the search for a new chairman and increasing targets for profit growth. The company said it expected costs associated with the name change to be "negligible".
