Annual Financial Report - Part 8 of 8

RNS Number : 5216F

Standard Life Aberdeen plc

10 March 2020

 

Standard Life Aberdeen plc

Full Year Results 2019

Part 8 of 8

10. Glossary

Aberdeen Asset Management or Aberdeen

Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, or Aberdeen Asset Management PLC and its subsidiaries.

Adjusted operating expenses

Adjusted operating expenses is a component of adjusted profit and relates to the day-to-day expenses of managing our business.

Adjusted profit

Adjusted profit before tax is the Group's key alternative performance measure. Adjusted profit excludes the impact of the following items:

· Restructuring costs and corporate transaction expenses. Restructuring includes the impact of major regulatory change.

· Amortisation and impairment of intangible assets acquired in business combinations and through the purchase of customer contracts

· Profit or loss arising on the disposal of a subsidiary, joint venture or associate

· Fair value movements in contingent consideration

· Items which are one-off and, due to their size or nature, are not indicative of the long-term operating performance of the Group

Adjusted profit also excludes impacts arising from investment return variances and economic assumption changes in the Group's insurance entities. It is calculated based on expected returns on investments backing equity holder funds, with consistent allowance for the corresponding expected movements in equity holder liabilities. Impacts arising from the difference between the expected return and actual return on investments, and the corresponding impact on equity holder liabilities except where they are directly related to a significant management action, are excluded from adjusted profit and are presented within profit before tax. The impact of certain changes in economic assumptions is also excluded from adjusted profit and is presented within profit before tax.

Dividends payable on preference shares classified as non-controlling interests are excluded from adjusted profit in line with the treatment of ordinary shares. Similarly to preference shares, coupons paid on perpetual debt instruments classified as equity for which interest is only accounted for when paid is excluded from adjusted profit. This includes our share of interest payable on Tier 1 debt instruments held by associates. Coupons payable on perpetual debt instruments classified as equity for which interest is accrued are included in adjusted profit before tax.

Assets under management and administration (AUMA)

AUMA is a measure of the total assets we manage, administer or advise on behalf of our clients and customers. It includes assets under management (AUM), assets under administration (AUA) and assets under advice (AUAdv). AUMA does not include assets for associates and joint ventures.

AUM is a measure of the total assets that Aberdeen Standard Investments manages on behalf of individual customers and institutional clients. AUM also includes assets managed for corporate purposes.

AUA is a measure of the total assets we administer for customers through our Platforms.

AuAdv is a measure of the total assets we advise our customers on, for which there is an ongoing charge.

Board

The Board of Directors of the Company.

Capital management

Capital management is a component of adjusted profit and relates to the return from the net assets of the shareholder business, net of costs of financing. This includes the net assets in defined benefit staff pension plans and net assets relating to the financing of subordinated liabilities.

Chief Operating Decision Maker

The executive leadership team.

Company

Standard Life Aberdeen plc. Prior to the merger, Standard Life plc.

Cost/income ratio

This is an efficiency measure that is calculated as adjusted operating expenses divided by adjusted operating income, and includes the share of associates' and joint ventures' profit before tax.

CRD IV

CRD IV is the European regulatory capital regime (comprising the Capital Requirements Directive and Capital Requirements Regulation) that applies to investment firms.

Director

A director of the Company.

Earnings per share (EPS)

EPS is a commonly used financial metric which can be used to measure the profitability and strength of a company over time. EPS is calculated by dividing profit by the number of ordinary shares. Basic EPS uses the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year. Diluted EPS adjusts the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares, such as share options awarded to employees.

Effective tax rate

Tax expense/(credit) attributable to equity holders' profit divided by profit before tax attributable to equity holders' profits expressed as a percentage.

Executive leadership team

Responsible for providing overall leadership of the business and comprises: Chief Executive, General Counsel, Chief Financial Officer, Global Head of Distribution, Head of EMEA, Chief of Staff, Chief Investment Officer, Chief HR Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Head of Americas and Head of Asia Pacific.

Fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL)

FVTPL is an IFRS measurement basis permitted for assets and liabilities which meet certain criteria. Gains or losses on assets or liabilities measured at FVTPL are recognised directly in the income statement.

FCA

Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom.

Fee based revenue

Fee based revenue is a component of adjusted profit and includes revenue we generate from asset management charges (AMCs), platform charges and other transactional charges. AMCs are earned on products such as mutual funds, and are calculated as a percentage fee based on the assets held. Investment risk on these products rests principally with the customer, with our major indirect exposure to rising or falling markets coming from higher or lower AMCs. Fee based revenue is shown net of fees, costs of sale, commissions and similar charges. Costs of sale include revenue from fund platforms which is passed to the product provider.

Fee revenue yield (bps)

The average revenue yield on fee based business is a measure that illustrates the average margin being earned on the assets under management, administration or advice. It is calculated as annualised fee based revenue (excluding performance fees, SL Asia, Focus and Threesixty) divided by monthly average fee based assets.

Global absolute return strategies (GARS)

A discretionary multi-asset fund provided under several regulated pooled and segregated structures globally by Aberdeen Standard Investments. The investment objective is to target a level of return over a rolling three-year period equivalent to cash plus 5% a year (gross of fees), and to do so with as little risk as possible.

Group, Standard Life Aberdeen Group or Standard Life Aberdeen

Relates to the Company and its subsidiaries.

ICAAP

Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process. The ICAAP is the means by which the Group assesses the level of capital that adequately supports all of the relevant current and future risks in its business.

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

International Financial Reporting Standards are accounting standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). The Group's consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with IFRS as endorsed by the EU. All EU-listed companies are required to prepare consolidated financial statements using IFRS issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) as endorsed by the EU. The IFRS financial results in the Strategic report and in the Group financial statements have been prepared on the basis of the IFRS accounting policies as disclosed in the Group financial statements section of this report.

Investment performance

Investment performance has been aggregated using a money weighted average of our assets under management which are outperforming their respective benchmarks on a gross of fees basis. Benchmarks differ by fund and are defined in each fund's Investment Management Agreement (for example, the benchmark for our GARS unit trust fund is six-month GBP LIBOR). For total AUM, the investment performance calculation covers 79% of Aberdeen Standard Investments AUM, with certain assets excluded such as non-discretionary portfolios e.g. full replication tracker funds or funds where no applicable index is available such as Aberdeen Standard Capital funds. Investment performance is calculated as if Standard Life Group and Aberdeen had always been merged.

Key performance indicators (KPI)

A measure by reference to which the development, performance or position of the business can be measured effectively.

Net flows

Net flows represent gross inflows less gross outflows or redemptions. Gross inflows are new funds from clients and customers. Gross outflows or redemptions is the money withdrawn by clients or customers during the period.

Phoenix or Phoenix Group

Phoenix Group Holdings plc or Phoenix Group Holdings plc and its subsidiaries.

Pillar 1

Under CRD IV, Pillar 1 focuses on fixed overhead requirements and the Group's exposure to credit and market risks in respect of risk-weighted assets, and sets a minimum requirement for capital based on these measures.

Pillar 2

The requirement for companies to assess the level of additional capital held against risks not covered in Pillar 1.

Pillar 3

This complements Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 with the aim of improving market discipline by requiring companies to publish certain details of their risks, capital and risk management. The Group's Pillar 3 disclosures will be published on the Group's website at www.standardlifeaberdeen.com/annualreport before 30 June 2020.

Platform

An investment platform (e.g. Wrap or Elevate) which is essentially a trading platform enabling investment funds, pensions, direct equity holdings and some life assurance contracts to be held in the same administrative account rather than as separate holdings.

Pro forma basis

The merger of Standard Life plc and Aberdeen completed on 14 August 2017, with the merger accounted for as an acquisition of Aberdeen by Standard Life plc on that date. Pro forma results for the Group are prepared as if Standard Life Group and Aberdeen had always been merged and are included for comparative periods to assist in explaining trends in financial performance by showing a full 12 months performance for the combined Group for all years.

Reported basis

The merger of Standard Life plc and Aberdeen completed on 14 August 2017, with the merger accounted for as an acquisition of Aberdeen by Standard Life plc on that date. The financial statements for 2017 have been prepared on this basis, with Aberdeen results included only from the date of merger onwards. This is referred to as the Reported basis.

Standard Life

Following completion of the sale of our UK and European insurance business to Phoenix in August 2018, we have retained ownership of the Standard Life brand while also licensing it to Phoenix. The Standard Life brand continues to be a prominent feature of our retail platforms.

Strategic insurance partners

A measure of the assets managed on behalf of a number of strategic partners such as Lloyds Banking Group and Phoenix.

Subordinated liabilities

Subordinated liabilities are debts of a company which, in the event of liquidation, rank below its other debts but above share capital.

Underpin

In relation to remuneration, refers to a further performance condition that is required to be met in addition to the performance targets when determining the vesting of an award.

11. Shareholder Information

Registered office

1 George Street
Edinburgh
EH2 2LL

Scotland

Company registration number: SC286832

For shareholder services call:

0345 113 0045*

*Calls may be monitored and/or recorded to protect both you and us and help with our training. Call charges will vary.

Secretary

Kenneth A Gilmour

Registrar

Link Market Services Limited (Link)

Auditors

KPMG LLP

Solicitors

Slaughter and May

Brokers

JP Morgan Cazenove

Goldman Sachs

Shareholder services

We offer a wide range of shareholder services. For more information, please:

· Contact our registrar, Link, who manage this service for us. Their details can be found on the inside back cover.

· Visit our share portal at www.standardlifeaberdeenshares.com

Sign up for Ecommunications

Signing up means:

· You'll receive an email when documents like the Annual report and accounts, Half year results and AGM guide are available on our website

· Voting instructions for the Annual General Meeting will be sent to you electronically

Set up a share portal account

Having a share portal account means you can:

· Manage your account at a time that suits you

· Download your documents when you need them 

To find out how to sign up, visit www.standardlifeaberdeenshares.com

Preventing unsolicited mail

By law, the Company has to make certain details from its share register publicly available. Because of this, it is possible that some registered shareholders could receive unsolicited mail or phone calls. You could also be targeted by fraudulent 'investment specialists'. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

You can find more information about share scams at the Financial Conduct Authority website www.fca.org.uk/consumers/scams

If you are a certificated shareholder, your name and address may appear on a public register. Using a nominee company to hold your shares can help protect your privacy. You can transfer your shares into the Company-sponsored nominee - the Standard Life Aberdeen Share Account - by contacting Link, or you could get in touch with your broker to find out about their nominee services.

If you want to limit the amount of unsolicited mail you receive generally, please visit www.mpsonline.org.uk

Financial calendar

Full year results 2019	10 March
Ex-dividend date for 2019 final dividend	2 April
Record date for 2019 final dividend	3 April
Last date for DRIP elections for 2019 final dividend	29 April
Annual General Meeting - Edinburgh	12 May
Dividend payment date for 2019 final dividend	19 May
Half year results 2020	7 August
Ex-dividend date for 2020 interim dividend	20 August
Record date for 2020 interim dividend	21 August
Last date for DRIP elections for 2020 interim dividend	9 September
Dividend payment date for 2020 interim dividend	29 September

Analysis of registered shareholdings at 31 December 2019

Range of shares	Number of holders	% of total holders	Number of shares	% of total shares
1-1,000	64,848	65.51	26,315,015	1.13
1,001-5,000	29,280	29.58	59,236,620	2.53
5,001-10,000	2,678	2.71	17,635,622	0.75
10,001-100,000	1,570	1.59	37,377,678	1.60
#100,001+	608	0.61	2,198,158,789	93.99
Total	98,984	100	2,338,723,724	100

#   These figures include the Company-sponsored nominee - the Standard Life Aberdeen Share Account - which had 1,005,103 participants holding 651,170,271 shares.

12. Forward-looking statements

This document may contain certain 'forward-looking statements' with respect to the financial condition, performance, results, strategy, targets, objectives, plans, goals and expectations of the Company and its affiliates. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts.

Forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical or current facts, but rather on current expectations, assumptions and projections of management about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. For example but without limitation, statements containing words such as 'may', 'will', 'should', 'could', 'continue', 'aims', 'estimates', 'projects', 'believes', 'intends', 'expects', 'hopes', 'plans', 'pursues', 'ensure', 'seeks', 'targets' and 'anticipates', and words of similar meaning (including the negative of these terms), may be forward-looking. These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions, future developments and other factors it believes appropriate.

By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they are based on information available at the time they are made, including current expectations and assumptions, and relate to future events and/or depend on circumstances which may be or are beyond the Group's control, including among other things: UK domestic and global political, economic and business conditions (such as the UK's exit from the EU); market related risks such as fluctuations in interest rates and exchange rates, and the performance of financial markets generally; the impact of inflation and deflation; the impact of competition; the timing, impact and other uncertainties associated with future acquisitions, disposals or combinations undertaken by the Company or its affiliates and/or within relevant industries; the value of and earnings from the Group's strategic investments and ongoing commercial relationships; default by counterparties; information technology or data security breaches (including the Group being subject to cyberattacks); operational information technology risks, including the Group's operations being highly dependent on its information technology systems (both internal and outsourced); natural or man-made catastrophic events; climate change and a transition to a low carbon economy (including the risk that the Group may not achieve its targets); exposure to third party risks including as a result of outsourcing; the failure to attract or retain necessary key personnel; the policies and actions of regulatory authorities; and the impact of changes in capital, solvency or accounting standards, and tax and other legislation and regulations (including changes to the regulatory capital requirements that the Group is subject to) in the jurisdictions in which the Company and its affiliates operate. As a result, the Group's actual future financial condition, performance and results may differ materially from the plans, goals, objectives and expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Persons receiving this document should not place reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither the Company nor its affiliates assume any obligation to update or correct any of the forward-looking statements contained in this document or any other forward-looking statements it or they may make (whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise), except as required by law. Past performance is not an indicator of future results and the results of the Company and its affiliates in this document may not be indicative of, and are not an estimate, forecast or projection of, the Company's or its affiliates' future results.

 

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