Oliver Shah: Standard Life Aberdeen
The merger of buccaneering Aberdeen Asset Management and its staid Edinburgh rival Standard Life has so far been messier than a haggis-hurling contest after several pints.
I am tipping the enlarged group not because I think the deal was a great idea (I don’t) or because the cultural combination fits particularly well (it doesn’t), but because if anyone can stabilise the fund manager it is Sir Douglas Flint, who takes over as chairman on Tuesday.
The former HSBC grandee inherits several problems. “Staberdeen” has been haemorrhaging investors’ money, with outflows totalling £16.6bn in the half-year to August 7, down marginally from £17.9bn in the previous six months. The Global Absolute Return Strategies fund, once a standout performer, has come off