Abrdn, the rebranded name for Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), one of the largest real estate investment managers in Europe, is combining its real estate and infrastructure divisions, leading to a new position for its global head of real estate.
Abrdn is entrusting Neil Slater as head of Real Assets as a result of the retirement of Rod Paris, CIO of the asset manager and a 20-year veteran of company.
CEO of the UK-listed group, Stephen Bird, said: ‘Investment management is at the heart of what we do, and I believe that this evolution to our structure will allow us to better align with the evolving needs of our clients, and the pace and scale of change across the industry. It’s indicative of the confident, futuristic business that our new brand Abrdn represents.’
ASI officially rebranded as Abrdn earlier this month. It manages and administers around €519 bn of assets globally.
ASI itself was formed out of a merger between Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life in August 2017.
Critics say the enlarged franchise has taken too long to demonstrate benefits of the merger - something its CEO has accepted.
Bird said: ‘I came into a merging company. It had been taking too long to merge and too long to prove the benefits of the original concept. (But) 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.’
Slater became head of global real estate in October 2019 after a shock decision to axe co-heads of the business, David Paine and Pertti Vanhanen.
