Aberdeen Asset Management, an international investment management group, merged with Standard Life, a United Kingdom-based global investment company, to form one of the world’s largest investment companies with assets under administration of £670bn. The merger harnesses Standard Life’s and Aberdeen’s complementary, market leading investment and savings capabilities. It creates an investment group with strong brands, leading institutional and wholesale distribution franchises, market leading platforms and access to long-standing, strategic partnerships globally. By combining the two companies’ strong balance sheets, the combined group will have greater ability to invest for growth and innovate. “As ever our priority remains the delivery of strong investment performance and the highest level of client service. The merger deepens and broadens our investment capabilities, and gives us a stronger and more diverse range of investment management skills as well as significant scale across asset classes and geographies. We believe this will enable us to deliver an even better proposition and service to our enlarged client base.” Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Standard Life Aberdeen.