Old Mutual Wealth to cut 200 staff on Skandia merger

Old Mutual Wealth has confirmed it will cut 200 roles as it merges its Skandia businesses, in a move that sees the Skandia brand consigned to history.

The firm said the 200 roles will be cut where there are areas of overlap via the merger and where enhancements in processes reduce the need for manual work.

It said the core customer services teams are not affected by these changes but will be continuously reviewed.

Old Mutual Wealth added these changes will have no impact on Skandia UK’s preparation for the retail distribution review or the roll out of Wealth Interactive, Skandia International’s new wealth management service.

The new firm Old Mutual Wealth has been created through the merger of Skandia UK, Skandia International and the Skandia European businesses outside of the Nordic region, with a total of £65.5 billion in assets under management.

Paul Feeney (pictured), chief executive of Old Mutual Wealth, said: ‘We know this is a difficult time for our staff, so we will make these changes as quickly as we can to give them clarity about the future and to ensure there will be minimal disruption for advisers and our customers.’

Meanwhile, two senior appointments have been made, with Michelle Andrews becoming marketing director. She will have responsibility for all marketing across the UK, International and Europe.

Andrews has worked at Skandia for 15 years across a range of roles, most recently as commercial director of Skandia International. In her new role she reports into Hylton Donnelly, commercial director at Old Mutual Wealth.

Steve Powell has been appointed sales director for the UK, responsible for driving sales of both onshore and offshore products into the UK market.

Powell has worked for Skandia for 20 years, most recently as sales director at Skandia UK. He will continue to report to Peter Mann, managing director, UK market, at Old Mutual Wealth.