Skandia brand to cease in UK
The Skandia brand will cease to be used in the UK, as operations are rebranded Old Mutual Wealth, as the business seeks to more closely tie together its financial adviser and retail offerings.
Currently, the business supports UK IFAs through its Intrinsic network, offers wealth management products and services – until today branded ‘Skandia’ – and asset management from Old Mutual Global Investors for the retail market.
The offshore business of Skandia International will be rebranded Old Mutual International by early 2015. The rebranding is taking place close to a decade after London listed Old Mutual in 2006 acquired the relevant assets of the then Stockholm headquartered international group Skandia. The Nordic business assets were not acquired, and the Skandia brand remains used by a separate company in the region, where it has re-mutualised.
The UK rebranding will include a comprehensive advertising campaign, targeting both trade and consumer press, branded taxis in 18 cities, billboards across major railway stations and 16 regional airports, and sponsorship of golf coverage on Sky Sports.
Paul Feeney, chief executive of Old Mutual Wealth, said: “There is a huge opportunity to create a company for the many who want to make a positive difference for themselves, those close to them, or the society they live in. There is an opportunity to build a business that integrates the three elements people need to help them save for their future – financial advice, investment and retirement solutions and tax efficient products. There is a necessity to rebuild trust in financial services by empowering customers through high quality advice and information.”
“That is our focus at Old Mutual Wealth. We are incredibly proud of our Skandia heritage and in fact we want to reignite the Skandia passion for innovation and high quality support for advisers and customers within Old Mutual Wealth. So, we say goodbye to Skandia with pride and look forward to building a new breed of investment business as Old Mutual Wealth.”
