Deal speeds changes at Scots finance giant

that provide services in areas such as self-invested personal pension plans. These passed to Phoenix as part of the 1918 transaction.

Phoenix will take over some services that were previously provided by Standard Life Aberdeen. It will have greater freedom to develop products to sell under the Standard Life brand.

The company said that the deal would allow it to accelerate the delivery of a broader set of product and service propositions to meet the financial needs of customers.

Around 60 SLA staff in areas such as marketing will transfer to Phoenix, which said it was committed to investing in the Standard Life business.

Asked if there would be any job cuts as a result, a spokesperson for Phoenix said: “No. We are firmly committed to our operations in Scotland and will continue to grow our Open Business from ... Edinburgh.” Phoenix employs around 2,800 in Edinburgh.

Standard Life Aberdeen said no posts would be made redundant as a result of the deal. It employs around 4,000 people in Edinburgh.

Mr Bird became chief executive of the group in November. When his appointment was announced in July, Mr Bird said the group had “a great history, a strong brand, and an exciting future”.

It has around £510bn assets under management or administration.