Monday 05 July 2021 10:35 am | Updated: Monday 05 July 2021 10:36 am

Standard Life Aberdeen officially changes name to abrdn

Standard Life Aberdeen has officially changed its name to abrdn, the company announced this morning.

The firm’s stock market ticker was changed from SLA to ABDN at 8am today.

Stephen Bird, CEO of abrdn plc, says: “I’m very excited to have reached this milestone. abrdn is so much more than a new name, it’s about our business coming together under a single global brand with a determined focus on enabling our clients and customers to be better investors”.

The company said the official name change marked a key milestone in the process of delivering on its strategy, noting that the new brand symbolises the transition to bring a clarity of focus.

It comes after the company was ridiculed for the rebrand when it was first announced in April of this year.

The firm faced a string of Twitter posts poking fun at the historic financial institution’s rebrand. The new name will be written in lower case and should be pronounced as “Aberdeen”.

The name change is also designed to clarify who owns Standard Life branded pensions.

“Acting with courage and conviction, being optimistic about the future and building powerful partnerships are all important attributes of the brand we are creating” Bird added.

As part of the announcement, abrdn said it reached a new charity partnership with Hello World, a digital education charity that offers practical, affordable and scalable solution to the global education deficit.

Katrin McMillan, CEO and founder of Hello World, says: “We are delighted to be working with abrdn. Our collaboration will have an enormous impact on the work we do and will immeasurably improve the lives of the communities we support. To partner with a business and a team so closely aligned with our approach and values is an especial bonus.”

The partnership will provide education opportunities to approximately 80,000 children and adults in disconnected communities.