Merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life completes

The merger of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC and Standard Life plc has completed today to form Standard Life Aberdeen plc, one of the world’s largest investment companies with assets under administration of £670 billion (€737 billion, US$871 billion)*. The deal between the two companies was first announced on 6 March 2017.

The merger harnesses Standard Life’s and Aberdeen’s complementary, market leading investment and savings capabilities. It creates an investment group with strong brands, leading institutional and wholesale distribution franchises, market leading platforms and access to long-standing, strategic partnerships globally. By combining the two companies’ strong balance sheets, the combined group will have greater ability to invest for growth and innovate.

The Group’s investment business, Aberdeen Standard Investments, manages £583 billion (€641 billion, US$758 billion)* of assets. This newly combined business will retain a long standing commitment to active investment management with a similar investment culture and approach, underpinned by fundamental research. It immediately becomes one of the largest active managers in Europe, offering clients access to a comprehensive range of developed and emerging market equities and fixed income, multi-asset, real estate and alternatives solutions. As a combined business it will have over 1,000 investment professionals based around the world.

The Group’s pensions and savings business, Standard Life, has around 4.5 million customers and is based primarily in the UK, with operations in Ireland and Germany. The business has established a market-leading position through a long-term commitment to support the needs of employers and their employees. Over one in six people auto-enrolled into a workplace pension in the UK enjoys the benefits of a Standard Life workplace pension.
Overall, Standard Life Aberdeen will have offices in 50 cities around the world, servicing clients in 80 countries. It has a market cap of over £11 billion (€12.1 billion, US$14.3 billion)*

Keith Skeoch, Chief Executive of Standard Life Aberdeen, commented:
“Today marks the culmination of many months of hard work and preparation by our business, and the beginning of a new chapter in our history as Standard Life Aberdeen plc. Our leadership team is in place and we have full business readiness from day one.  Our people have worked exceptionally well together to complete the merger on schedule and we would like to thank them for this.  The co-operation and collaboration we have witnessed bodes well for the on-going integration of the business, and in helping us create a world-class investment company for our clients, shareholders and our people.”

Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Standard Life Aberdeen, added:
“As ever our priority remains the delivery of strong investment performance and the highest level of client service.  The merger deepens and broadens our investment capabilities, and gives us a stronger and more diverse range of investment management skills as well as significant scale across asset classes and geographies.  We believe this will enable us to deliver an even better proposition and service to our enlarged client base.”

ENDS

Media enquiries

For further information, photos, video content or interviews, contact:

Barry Cameron     
Head of Strategic Communications
+44 (0)131 245 6165
barry.cameron@aberdeenstandard.com

James Thorneley
Head of Communications
+44 (0)20 7463 6323
james.thorneley@aberdeenstandard.com

Notes to editors

Standard Life Aberdeen plc is a leading global investment company. We have operations in 50 locations worldwide and employ around 9,000 people.
We are dedicated to helping our clients and customers invest for their future. Our expertise and resource enables us to offer a wide range of investment solutions and services designed to meet their needs today, tomorrow and for the longer term. We manage, administer and advise on £670 billion* of assets worldwide.

We are driven to be world class in everything we do, whether looking after our clients’ investments, offering our employees a rewarding career path or making sure we take our responsibility as shareholders seriously. This commitment and focus has allowed us to become a trusted global partner to individual and institutional investors.

Standard Life Aberdeen plc is headquartered in Scotland. It has around 1.2 million shareholders and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Standard Life Aberdeen group was formed by the merger of Standard Life plc and Aberdeen Asset Management PLC on 14 August 2017.

* Standard Life AUM/AUA data as at 30 June 2017. Aberdeen Asset Management AUM data as at 31 March 2017. All other data as at 30 June 2017.