abrdn PLC on Tuesday said it is changing its name to aberdeen group plc, re-embracing vowels, if not capitalisation.

The Edinburgh-based asset manager attracted much market ridicule for changing its name to abrn from Standard Life Aberdeen back in 2021. Chief Executive Officer Jason Windsor said the name change was aimed at ‘removing distractions’.

‘This is a pragmatic decision marking a new phase for the organisation, as we focus on delivering for our customers, people and shareholders,’ Windsor said on Tuesday.

The decision came as the newly minted aberdeen said it swung to an IFRS pretax profit of £251 million in 2024 from a £6 million loss in 2023. After tax, its IFRS profit was £248 million, up from £12 million.

Assets under management and administration grew by 3.3% to £511.4 billion as of December 31 from £494.9 billion a year before, as net outflow excluding liquidity narrowed to £6.1 billion last year from £13.9 billion in 2023.

Within total assets, AuMa for aberdeen’s interactive investor business was £77.5 billion as of the end of 2024, up from £66.0b a year before. For the Adviser division, it was £75.2 billion, up from £73.5 billion. For the core Investments division, it was £369.7 billion, up from £366.7 billion.

aberdeen declared a full-year dividend of 14.6 pence per share, unchanged from 2023.

Looking ahead, aberdeen set new targets for 2026. It expects adjusted operating profit of at least £300 million, up from £255 million in 2024 and £249 million in 2023. It didn’t give a similar target for 2025.

aberdeen said doesn’t plan to change the legal names of any of its subsidiaries or underlying investment funds as result of the group name change. Its ticker remains ABDN.

Shares were up 11% to 179.38 pence on Tuesday morning in London, the second best performer in the FTSE 250 index after Keller Group PLC.

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