Aberdeen Group scraps Abrdn rebrand to ‘remove distractions’
The 200-year-old fund management group is hoping to put the vowel-less rebrand, which prompted widespread ridicule, behind it.
One of Britain’s biggest and oldest finance firms has renamed itself Aberdeen Group after a short-lived – and widely mocked – rebrand to Abrdn.
The 200-year-old fund management giant was previously known as Standard Life Aberdeen before adopting its new moniker, Abrdn, in 2021.
The name change had been recommended by branding agency Wolff Olins which at the time said the new identity “symbolises the free-flowing movement of money”.
It was also endorsed by then-chief executive Stephen Bird, who said the new name was designed to “create unity across the business”.
Four years on – and with a new boss – vowels are back in.
Jason Windsor, who took over the top job from Mr Bird in October 2023, said on Tuesday the company is “removing distractions” by renaming itself Aberdeen Group.
Even before the controversial name change in 2021, the “Standard Life Aberdeen” moniker had only been created in 2017 when Aberdeen Asset Management merged with insurer Standard Life.
The latest rebrand to Aberdeen Group is the finance firm’s fourth name in eight years.
Mr Windsor said: “This is a pragmatic decision marking a new phase for the organisation, as we focus on delivering for our customers, people and shareholders.”
The Abrdn saga brought with it a slew of unwelcome headlines, including an interview with chief investment officer Peter Branner in which he accused some of bullying.
Mr Branner told Financial News in April 2024: “I understand that corporate bullying to some extent is part of the game with the press, even though it’s a little childish to keep hammering the missing vowels in our name.
“Would you do that with an individual? How would you look at a person who makes fun of your name day in, day out? It’s probably not ethical to do it. But apparently with companies it is different.”
The announcement came as the company reported that its profit grew 2% to £255 million last year after it managed to attract about 35,000 new customers to its Interactive Investor business.
Customer numbers at the online investment platform surged 8% to 439,000, boosting its assets under management by more than a sixth to £77.5 billion.
