The Investment Association (IA), the trade body representing investment managers in the UK, has elected Stephen Bird to its board of directors. The IA advocates for UK investment management, and it supports savers, investors, and businesses. The association has 250 members who manage a combined £10 trillion for clients in the UK and abroad.
Bird is the CEO of abrdn, a global investment company headquartered in Edinburgh, and the UK’s largest active asset manager. The company administers and manages hundreds of billions worth of assets for clients, and the London Stock Exchange lists abrdn as a FTSE 100 constituent.
Investment Association Welcomes New Board Director
Appointed to the IA’s board of directors last year, Bird has replaced outgoing director Hanneke Smits. The CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management, Smits sat on the IA’s board for three years. Chair of the IA board of directors Keith Skeoch thanked Smits for her dedication to the position over the years and anticipated that she would remain close to the board.
Skeoch welcomed Bird, acknowledging the abrdn CEO’s customer-focused approach to investment. Skeoch also stated that Bird’s experience with “technological transformation” will greatly complement the board’s expertise as the investment sector moves through a period characterised by complex challenges, in the UK and internationally.
Technological Transformation at abrdn
Since joining abrdn as CEO in 2020, Bird has overseen the completion of a comprehensive company rebrand (previously, abrdn was Standard Life Aberdeen) and shored up its path to long-term growth. Under his leadership, abrdn experienced revenue growth for the first time since the merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management, which formed the company in 2017.
Bird’s drive to future-proof abrdn has led the company to introduce robot funds (funds managed by computers instead of human managers) and acquire Finimize, a financial insights app. Another acquisition is interactive investor (ii), one of the UK’s leading subscription-based platforms that allows users to invest directly, further empowering individuals to take control of their financial journeys.
Opportunities for the Investment Management Industry
The IA’s board of directors has 18 seats held by senior members of some of the investment world’s biggest asset management firms and a select group of smaller companies. The board underwent significant change in September 2021 and saw the addition of seven directors. These additions followed the IA’s pledge to improve its representation of the current investment management industry.
Bird shared that he was pleased to join the IA board of directors at such a crucial time. He added that the industry has an important role in supporting millions of people in the UK to save and plan for financially stable futures.
According to Bird, recent economic shifts, alongside changes in technology and demographics, have meant major challenges for investment management. However, the recent shifts have also created significant opportunities, and the abrdn CEO regards the IA as an important agent in this time of change.
Rebranding and Restructuring abrdn
Bird became abrdn’s CEO in 2020, after joining the company’s board as chief executive designate. Since then, Bird has steered the prominent asset manager through a period of major transformation, overseeing milestones such as:
- The company’s rebrand from Standard Life Aberdeen to abrdn (2021).
- abrdn’s acquisition of artificial intelligence (AI) wealth manager Exo Investing and financial insights platform Finimize (2021).
- abrdn’s first revenue growth since the Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management merger in 2017 (2022).
- The acquisition of the direct investing platform, interactive investor, and its integration with abrdn’s Personal vector (2022).
In restructuring abrdn, Bird has created three vectors of growth to focus on clients’ changing needs: Investments, Adviser, and Personal.
Individuals in the UK benefit from a range of services that are available through abrdn’s Personal vector, including hybrid advice (which combines human-given financial advice with digital advice), quality financial planning, discretionary investment management options, and digital investing tools.
abrdn’s Investments vector manages £386 billion on behalf of institutional, insurance, and wholesale clients, with insights from 800 investment professionals in 30 locations. Meanwhile, the Adviser vector offers platform technology and support for UK wealth managers and financial advisers to run their businesses and create more growth for clients.
About Stephen Bird
During a career spanning two decades in the banking and investment industries, Bird has developed a strong reputation for delivering exceptional value for clients and creating impressive revenue growth in complicated financial markets. The CEO has also obtained invaluable experience in business transformation, helping companies evolve through periods of competitive change and technological disruption.
Before he became the abrdn CEO, Bird served as the CEO of global consumer banking at Citigroup from 2015 to the end of 2019. Over four years, Bird managed all commercial and consumer banking businesses (including retail banking and wealth management firms, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and the technology and operations that supported these businesses) in 19 countries.
Bird started working at Citigroup in 1998, holding various leadership roles for its Latin American and Asian businesses. Before becoming CEO of global consumer banking, Bird was the chief executive of Citigroup’s Asia Pacific lines of business, gathering expertise across 17 markets, including China and India.
Previously, Bird was the director of UK operations at GE Capital (1996-98). He has also held a management position with British Steel.
Alongside his responsibilities as a member of the Investment Association’s board of directors, Bird is currently a member of Scotland’s Financial Services Growth and Development Board. He is an honorary fellow at Cardiff University, where he earned his Master of Business Administration in Economics and Finance.
