What’s in a name anyway?…

Next Monday, 13^th September, marks the date that ‘Standard Life’ will re-brand to become ‘Abrdn’. Don’t worry, we also found ourselves asking, how’s that pronounced? Exactly the same as with the vowels in; ‘Aberdeen’.

Its important to reaffirm that Abrdn remain very much the same firm as Standard Life. Long standing clients will know that we’ve partnered with Standard Life’s tax distribution platform (known as the wrap platform) for a number of years, and we remain committed to their offering for a number of reasons. Their technology piece leads the market, their financial strength and profitability within the sector remain very robust and growing, and importantly their service levels meet our lofty expectations with significant regularity compared to our experience of their peers. That combination gives us the best chance to add value to our clients, which is what we are all about after all.

It’s also worth mentioning that the re-brand marks the end of a number of acquisitions and divestures by Abrdn. They seem buoyed that the process is over, and they believe they are now a more streamlined business (‘oil tanker turned speedboat’ in their words…) helping to accelerate the rate of improvement of the platform over the years ahead.

For now, its time to say goodbye to the old Standard Life brand, and hello to Abrdn! Rest-assured though, they remain a core partner for very much the same reasons, and with any luck, will further validate that partnership in the not too distant future.