Skandia brand consigned to history as business is merged into Old Mutual Wealth

The Old Mutual group’s Skandia businesses are being merged into a single unit, under the name of Old Mutual Wealth.

The consolidation of the business aims to combine its asset management capability with its UK platform, as well as its offshore expertise, to strengthen its position in the wealth management space.

Old Mutual Wealth, which was previously Old Mutual Wealth Management, is led by Paul Feeney as chief executive.

Peter Mann will become managing director for the UK market, while Steven Levin will become managing director for international markets.

Feeney said: ‘This is an important development for the business.  We are no longer simply owned by Old Mutual, we are Old Mutual Wealth and an integral element of the group’s growth strategy. 

‘We are combining all the talents of the Skandia businesses to create a single, stronger company with one brand, one strategy and one vision. 

‘This vision is to become a leading provider of wealth management solutions both in the UK and across our international markets.’

He added: ‘We will do this by expanding our asset management capability and combining this with our unrivalled UK platform strength and offshore bond products to create investment solutions that our customers value.’

The merger comes after the sale of the Skandia Nordic business by Old Mutual earlier this year, which was passed on to Skandia Liv. The firm said this will prevent confusion arising from the Skandia brand being used by the two separate companies, Old Mutual and Skandia Liv.

As part of the merger, Skandia UK, Skandia International and the Skandia European businesses outside of the Nordics will take on the Old Mutual Wealth brand, with the transition taking place over a 24-month period to mitigate disruption.