Standard Life Aberdeen can grow through the gloom as consumers save rather than spend

If you run a company founded in a Scottish city currently enduring a second Covid lockdown, you can be forgiven for having a gloomy view of the economy.

That’s the position in which Standard Life Aberdeen’s Keith Skeoch found himself as he made his final City results presentation today after 21 years in the firm.

But amid his grim forecast of a long-drawn out W-shape recovery is some hope for his successor Stephen Bird. That is that people fearing for their jobs and finances will save money rather than spend it. The opportunity is there for Standard Life’s funds to be where they squirrel it away.

As Hargreaves Lansdown showed today, there’s money to be made from savers in these uncertain times. You just have to offer the services and marketing nous to get them interested.

Therein lies the biggest job for Bird. Now the painful integration that spawned this sprawling business has been done, he must shift rapidly to boost its sales.

The Standard Life name is well trusted, but that needs to translate into far better sales both direct to consumers and through its financial advisers.

Particularly in an era when old mandates for companies’ defined benefit pension schemes dwindles.

Bird is a consumer finance veteran and must see the potential there. He arrives after a long period of weak fund inflows and a share price that values its core asset management business at a discount to rivals.

If he can bolster the flows of money coming in from consumers — and there were signs of improvement today — a brighter future lies ahead for long suffering shareholders.

It’s early days to be buying the shares yet, though. Markets look toppy and could go south — hitting fees and the value of SLA’s investments. The dividend’s a worry, too, as it’s not currently covered by cashflow.

But opportunities for growth are there. Over to you, Mr Bird.