Today, one of the world's largest asset managers with $758 billion in assets under management, Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, merged with Standard Life plc to form Standard Life Aberdeen plc. The new firm manages $871 billion in global assets under management. The deal was first announced on March 6, 2017. [See MFWire's past coverage of the deal].

A spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

"Today marks the culmination of many months of hard work and preparation by our business, and the beginning of a new chapter in our history as Standard Life Aberdeen plc. Our leadership team is in place and we have full business readiness from day one," Keith Skeoch, co-chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen, states in the announcement. "The co-operation and collaboration we have witnessed bodes well for the on-going integration of the business, and in helping us create a world-class investment company for our clients, shareholders and our people."

Skeoch has been a director at Standard Life since joining in 1999, and has served as the firm's chief investment officer. He has been Standard Life's chief executive since 2004. Prior, from 1980 to 1999, Skeoch was with James Capel where he served as managing director of international equities, director of economics and strategy, chief economist, and international economist.

"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, co-chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen, states in the announcement.

Co-founder of the firm, Gilbert served as CEO of Aberdeen since the firms inception in 1983. He earned his Bachelor of Laws and Master of Arts in Accountancy from the University of Aberdeen.

Headquartered in Scotland, the new firm will employ a similar investment culture and approach to that of its investment business, Aberdeen Standard Investments. As a consolidated business, it will have over 1,000 investment professionals based around the world. Standard Life Aberdeen will have offices in 50 cities around the globe, with participants in 80 countries. It employs around 9,000 people.  

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