Scottish Widows terminates Aberdeen partnership due to Standard Life merger

Scottish Widows and Wealth entered into the partnership with Aberdeen following the sale of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership in 2014.

The contracts enabled Scottish Widows and Wealth to terminate the contracts in the event that Aberdeen was subject to a change of control with a material competitor.

Aberdeen recently completed a merger with Standard Life, and Scottish Widows said "no agreement has been reached" which addressed the competition issue.

Scottish Widows and Wealth said they will now "review their long-term asset management arrangements" and anticipate implementing the new arrangements by the end of H1 2019.

In a statement, Scottish Widows said:

"Aberdeen has delivered good service and performance and Scottish Widows and Wealth would welcome their participation in the review if Standard Life Aberdeen is able to resolve the competition issue."

Antonio Lorenzo, Chief Executive of Scottish Widows and Group Director of Insurance & Wealth, commented: “Given the merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen has resulted in our assets being managed by a material competitor, it is now appropriate to review our long-term asset management arrangements to ensure they remain up-to-date and that customers continue to receive good service and investment performance. Therefore, we will begin an in-depth assessment of the market to identify a long-term strategic partner, or partners, to manage the current £109bn of assets.”