Abrdn hits out at 'corporate bullying' over name change

An executive at a centuries-old investment firm has accused the media of "corporate bullying" after it changed its name to Abrdn.

The asset manager rebranded from Standard Life Aberdeen three years ago, shortening its name and dropping the vowels.

Chief investment officer Peter Branner complained the press was making "childish" jokes about the change.

He said it would be unethical to treat an individual in the same way.

In an interview with the trade publication Financial News, he said: "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."

The Financial Times responded by publishing a post that read "Lv Abrdn aln" (Leave Abrdn alone), while City AM ran with a front page on Tuesday that read "Abrdn: an apology - sry we kp tkng th pss ot of yr mssng vwls".

The fund group was born out of the £3.8bn ($4.8bn) merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017 and has its roots dating as far back as 1825. It proceeded with a name change in 2021 after offloading its UK and European life insurance arm and selling its Standard Life brand name to smaller rival Phoenix Group.

Abrdn appointed branding agency Wolff Olins to advise on the change but has been on the receiving end of jibes ever since, with some suggesting the company suffers from "irritable vowel syndrome".

Mr Branner told Financial News: "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."

Other notable name changes that have been heavily criticised include Elon Musk's decision to rename Twitter as X last year, as well as the planned move to change Royal Mail to Consignia in 2001.

An Abrdn spokesperson said: ''As Peter made clear in his interview, we appreciate it is for the media to make their own assessments about the companies they wish to write about."