From vowels to vexation: Abrdn’s CIO faces the music

EDINBURGH: Scottish investment firm “Abrdn’s” Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Peter Branner blasted media outlets on Tuesday in what he called as unwarranted criticism and “corporate bullying” directed at his firm.

The Scottish investment firm’s decision to rebrand its name from “Standard Life Aberdeen” to “Abrdn” in April 2021 was met with bemused curiosity and attracted widespread attention from the media outlets.

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The decision to drop vowels from the company name to create an unconventional spelling was heavily mocked and criticised by industry observers and media alike. The firm over the years earned labels such as “irritable vowel syndrome” among other.

Despite enlisting the services of a branding agency for guidance on the name change, Abrdn has continued to face mockery in the media.

The CIO expressed deep frustration at the media’s portrayal of the name change, labeling jokes about the name as “childish.” The CIO also questioned the double standards applied to companies compared to people, such as singers who sometimes carry bizarre stage-names.

The new name was unveiled in April 2021, with the investment firm stating that the name is pronounced as “Aberdeen,” despite the lack of vowels. Abrdn claimed the name change as a “symbol” of the company’s commitment to “future-focused growth” and “innovation”.

Despite the firm’s efforts to justify the rebranding as a “strategic move” aligned with its vision for the future, the decision to drop vowels is still being met with ridicule, three years on.

Abrdn was ‘founded’ due to a merger between “Standard Life” and “Aberdeen Asset Management” in 2017. Following this merger, the company underwent significant changes, including the decision to rebrand in 2021. Abrdn is a global investment firm with its headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland. It engages in investments across equities, fixed income, real estate, and other sectors.

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The firm cites its need to shift the company’s focus as having necessitated a new identity that would “better reflect the company’s direction”.

The Scottish investment firm’s experience with renaming the company name and facing subsequent mockery is not unique to the business world. Billionaire Elon Musk’s decision to rename his newly bought social media platform “Twitter” to “X” was universally mocked.