On 30 June 2016 the Company increased its investment in Standard Life Assurance Limited through the purchase of 10,000,000 ordinary shares for a cash consideration of £10m.
On 14 December 2016 the Company transferred its 100% holding in Pearson Jones plc to 1825 Financial Planning Limited, the Group’s UKwide financial advice business. The consideration received was 11,600,000 £1 ordinary shares in Standard Life Assurance Limited.
On 22 December 2016 the Company further increased its investment in Standard Life Assurance Limited through the purchase of 13,000,000 ordinary shares for a cash consideration of £13m.
Investment in associate measured at cost 10 10 Investment in joint venture measured at cost 124 124 Investments in associates and joint ventures 134 134
(a) Investment in associates The Company’s investment in associate measured at cost relates to a 25.3% (2016: 25.3%) interest in Tenet Group Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales. The year end date for Tenet Group Limited is 30 September which is different from the Company’s year end date of 31 December. For the purposes of the preparation of the Company’s financial statements, financial information for the year ended 31 December is used.
(b) Investment in joint venture The Company has a 50% (2016: 50%) interest in Heng An Standard Life Insurance Company Limited, a company incorporated in China. Further details on this joint venture are provided in Note 16 of the Group financial statements.
The amount of loans to subsidiaries expected to be recovered or settled after more than 12 months is £324m (2016: £323m).
Cash flow hedges 559 – (33) – – – Foreign exchange forwards 6 – – 6 – –
Derivative liabilities of £33m (2016: £nil) are expected to be settled after more than 12 months.
F. Other assets Other assets of £27m (2016: £8m) comprise amounts due from related parties in respect of Group relief, which are expected to be recovered within 12 months.
J. Retained earnings Transfer for vested employee share-based payments includes £32m (2016: £nil) in relation to replacement awards granted to employees of Aberdeen which vested before the acquisition date and were recognised directly in retained earnings on acquisition.
Available-forsale financial assets Cash flow hedges Total 2017 £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
Shares issued in respect of business combinations 3,972 – – – – – 3,972 Fair value losses on cash flow hedges – – – – – (33) (33) Realised losses on cash flow hedges transferred to income statement – – – – – 13 13 Reserves credit for employee share-based payments – 96 – – – – 96 Transfer to retained earnings for vested employee share-based payments – (54) – – – – (54) Tax effect of items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss – – – – – 3 3
Reserves credit for employee share-based payment schemes – 30 – – – 30 Transfer to retained earnings for vested employee share–based payments – (23) – – – (23) Cancellation of capital redemption reserve – – – (488) – (488) Fair value gains on available-for-sale financial assets – – – – 17 17 Tax effect of items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss – – – – (3) (3)
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost Cash flow hedge Total 2016 Notes £m £m £m
Subordinated guaranteed bonds: 6.75% Sterling fixed rate perpetual £500m £502m £500m £502m
Mutual Assurance Capital Securities: 6.546% Sterling fixed rate perpetual £300m £318m £300m £318m Subordinated liabilities £1,876m £1,319m
Subordinated liabilities are considered current if the contractual re-pricing or maturity dates are within one year. The principal amount of all the subordinated liabilities is expected to be settled after more than 12 months. The accrued interest on the subordinated liabilities of £42m (2016: £37m) is expected to be settled within 12 months.
On 18 October 2017, the Company issued US Dollar subordinated notes with a principal amount of $750m. Further information on this and the terms and conditions of all subordinated liabilities is given in Note 34 of the Group financial statements.
The amount of deferred tax liabilities expected to be recovered or settled after more than 12 months is £nil (2016: £3m).
Deferred tax assets comprise: Unrealised losses on cash flow hedges 3 – Deferred tax liabilities comprise: Unrealised gains on assets held as available-for-sale (3) (3) Net deferred tax liability – (3)
Movements in net deferred tax assets/(liabilities) comprise: At 1 January (3) (1) Amounts credited to net profit 3 1 Amounts charged to other comprehensive income – (3)
O. Other financial liabilities The amount of other financial liabilities expected to be settled after more than 12 months is £nil (2016: £nil).
P. Other liabilities The amount of other liabilities expected to be settled after more than 12 months is £nil (2016: £nil).
On 18 October 2017, the Company issued US Dollar Subordinated Notes with a principal amount of $750m, the related cash flows expose the Company to foreign currency risk on the principal and coupon payments. The Company manages the foreign exchange risk with a crosscurrency swap which is designated as a cash flow hedge.
The following table provides information regarding the market risk exposure to debt securities of the Company at 31 December 2017 and 31 December 2016, showing diversification by geographic region.
Geography UK Europe Other Total £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
(b)(i) Sensitivity analysis – market risk The table below illustrates the sensitivity of profit after tax to changes in equity security prices and to changes in interest rates as at the reporting date, assuming other assumptions remain unchanged.
Investments in subsidiaries at FVTPL of £333m (2016: £276m) includes £203m (2016: £201m) invested in absolute return funds and £130m (2016: £75m) relating to a holding in a money market fund. These funds are managed by a subsidiary company and are not rated. The money market fund invests in a range of counterparties that are externally rated, and uses concentration limits and maturity limits in managing its exposures.
(d) Liquidity risk Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company is unable to realise investments and other assets in order to settle its financial obligations when they fall due, or can do so only at excessive cost. The Company ensures that it can meet its financial obligations as they fall due by maintaining suitable levels of liquid assets. The obligations arising from subordinated liabilities are mostly offset by receipts arising from loans to subsidiaries and investments in subsidiaries. Refer to Note D for the maturity profile of undiscounted cash flows of derivative financial instruments.
Other financial liabilities have a contractual maturity of within 1 year.
(b) Indemnities and guarantees Under the trust deed in respect of the UK Standard Life defined benefit pension plan, Standard Life Employee Services Limited (SLESL), the principal employer, must pay contributions to the pension plan as the trustees’ actuary may certify necessary. The Company has guaranteed the obligations of SLESL to the UK Standard Life defined benefit pension plan for a period of 15 years from 10 July 2006, which gave rise to a liability of £nil at 31 December 2017 (2016: £nil).
There were no significant transfers between level 1 and level 2 in the year. During the year, there were no disposals (2016: none) of level 3 securities. There is no significant sensitivity of level 3 financial instruments measured at fair value in relation to changes in key assumptions.
(c) Fair value of financial assets and liabilities measured at amortised cost The fair value of subordinated liabilities is set out in Note 41 of the Group financial statements.
The table below presents estimated fair values of other financial assets and liabilities held by the Company whose carrying value does not approximate fair value.
The financial effect of the transaction on the Company, if it completes, is expected to be as follows at completion:  recognition of a gain on disposal in the income statement. The magnitude of the gain will be dependent on the carrying value of SLAL following a group re-organisation to remove the assets detailed above and the share price of Phoenix at completion.
We have presented below reconciliations from these APMs to the most appropriate measure prepared in accordance with IFRS. All APMs should be read together with the Group’s IFRS consolidated income statement, IFRS consolidated statement of financial position and IFRS consolidated statement of cash flows, which are presented in the Group financial statements section of this report.
Adjusted profit before tax (previously named operating profit before tax) is the Group’s key alternative performance measure. Adjusted profit excludes impacts arising from short-term fluctuations in investment return and economic assumption changes in the Group’s wholly owned 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. Adjusted profit also excludes the impact of the following items:  Restructuring costs and corporate transaction expenses. Restructuring includes the impact of major regulatory change.  Impairment and amortisation of intangible assets acquired in business combinations  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 Coupons payable on perpetual notes classified as non-controlling interests are included in adjusted profit before tax. For IFRS purposes, these are recognised directly in equity. This gives rise to an adjusting item relating to ‘coupons payable on perpetual notes classified as equity’. Dividends payable on preference shares classified as non-controlling interests are excluded from adjusted profit in line with the treatment of ordinary dividends.
Adjusted profit reporting provides further analysis of the results reported under IFRS and the Directors believe it helps to give shareholders a fuller understanding of the performance of the business by identifying and analysing adjusting items. Adjusted profit before tax is consistent with the way that financial performance is measured by management and reported to the Board and executive committee. Adjusted profit before tax is also a key measure used to assess performance for remuneration purposes. Following the merger, the Group renamed ‘operating profit before tax’ as ‘adjusted profit before tax’. Short-term fluctuations in investment return and economic assumption changes are now only adjusted for wholly owned insurance entities. Previously these adjustments also applied to holding companies and other noninsurance entities. Comparatives have been updated to reflect the new methodology. The reason for the change in methodology is to align the approach with that used by Aberdeen and to improve consistency with other asset management peers. The reason for the change in the name of the metric is that ‘operating profit’ is used in a different way by many asset managers. We consider that the term ‘adjusted’ better differentiates the metric from IFRS metrics.
Adjusted cash generation (previously named underlying cash generation) presents a shareholder view of cash generation. The calculation of this measure has been amended following the merger. For the Aberdeen Standard Investments segment, adjusted cash generation adjusts IFRS net cash flows from operating activities for restructuring and corporate transaction expenses paid. For the Standard Life Pensions and Savings segment and Other, adjusted cash generation removes certain non-cash items from adjusted profit before tax. Adjustments are made for deferred acquisition costs/deferred income and fixed/intangible assets. Adjusted cash generation is stated net of current (cash) tax. IFRS net cash flows from operating activities is not used as the basis for these segments as it includes policyholder cash flows, and therefore does not present a shareholder view. For the India and China life segment, adjusted cash generation reflects dividends received in the period.
This APM presents a shareholder view of cash generation and removes adjusting items to make this cash metric more comparable to adjusted profit after tax. Adjusted cash generation provides insight into our ability to generate cash that supports further investment in the business and the payment of dividends to shareholders. The IFRS consolidated statement of cash flows includes policyholder cash flows for the Standard Life Pension and Savings business, and therefore does not present a shareholder view, and does not exclude adjusting items.
Following the merger, the Group changed the methodology for the Aberdeen Standard Investments segment to more directly align adjusted cash generation for this segment with the cash flow statement. The reason for the change is to align the approach with that used by Aberdeen and to improve consistency with other asset management peers. The methodology for the Standard Life Pensions and Savings segment was also amended to remove underlying adjustments (primarily spread/risk actuarial assumption changes) to better align with the adjusted profit measure. We provide a reconciliation to previously published financial information in the adjusted cash generation section on page 289.
Adjusted profit before tax The table below reconciles adjusted profit to Profit for the year attributable to equity holders of the Company (which we also refer to as IFRS profit after tax attributable to equity holders). We also provide, in the reconciliation to IFRS profit by component section below, a reconciliation between adjusted profit before tax and IFRS profit before tax. We consider IFRS profit after tax attributable to equity holders to be a more useful indicator of performance than IFRS profit before tax, due to the impact of policyholder tax. As described in Note 10 of the Group financial statements the tax expense includes policyholder tax, and IFRS profit before tax includes an offsetting equivalent amount of income in relation to this policyholder tax.
An explanation for why individual items are excluded from adjusted profit is set out below.
 Short-term fluctuations in investment return and economic assumption changes in the Group’s wholly owned insurance entities are excluded from adjusted profit. For annuities this means that all fluctuations in liabilities and the assets backing those liabilities due to market interest rate (including credit risk) movements over the year are excluded from adjusted profit. Removing these short-term fluctuations and economic assumption changes is consistent with many of our insurance peers and aims to ensure that adjusted profit reflects a long-term view aligned to the maturity profile and economic matching of the corresponding assets and liabilities. In relation to certain subordinated liabilities this adjustment also excludes an accounting mismatch that arises where subordinated liabilities are measured at amortised cost and certain assets backing the liabilities are measured at fair value. More details on this adjustment are provided in Note 12 of the Group financial statements.
 Restructuring and corporate transaction expenses are excluded from adjusted profit. Restructuring includes the impact of major regulatory change. By highlighting and excluding these costs we aim to give shareholders a fuller understanding of the performance of the business. Restructuring and corporate transaction expenses include costs relating to the integration of businesses acquired. Other restructuring costs excluded from adjusted profit relate to projects which have a significant impact on the way the Group operates. Costs are only excluded from adjusted profit where they are outwith business as usual activities and the costs would not have been incurred had the restructuring project not taken place. Restructuring and corporate transaction expenses in 2017 mainly related to Standard Life Group merger transaction costs of £59m and integration and merger related costs of £50m. 2017 also included £24m of costs relating to the Elevate integration and Ignis integration costs of £9m. The residual costs of £31m relate to other corporate transaction expenses, Pensions and Savings/corporate centre restructuring, and costs in relation to Brexit which we consider to be a major regulatory change.
 Items which are one-off and due to their size or nature are not indicative of the long-term operating performance of the Group are also excluded from adjusted profit. This aims to assist comparability of results period on period. The provision for annuity sales practices falls under this category. Any future changes to the provision will be treated consistently.
 In the current year we have also made an adjustment for coupons payable on perpetual notes classified as equity to remove the finance cost. This adjustment is required because the finance cost for these notes is included within adjusted profit so that, for adjusted profit purposes, perpetual notes classified as equity and our other subordinated debt classified as liabilities are treated consistently. These perpetual notes were reclassified to liabilities prior to the year end and therefore this adjustment will not be required in future periods.
The results on a Pro forma basis for 2016 disclosed above are consistent with data disclosed in the published Prospectus dated 16 October 2017 relating to the issue of $750m subordinated notes, other than in relation to restructuring and corporate transaction expenses. The data disclosed in the Prospectus required the inclusion of £95m in 2016 in relation to Aberdeen merger transaction costs incurred in 2017. These costs are included in 2017 expenses in the above Pro forma restructuring and corporate transaction expenses.
Spread/risk margin 145 – – – – 145 Total adjusted operating income 1,724 1,169 (62) – – 2,831 Total adjusted operating expenses (1,124) (670) 8 – – (1,786)
5 Following the Merger, the Group has renamed ‘operating profit’ as ‘adjusted profit’. Line items have been changed accordingly.
Reconciliation of adjusted profit to IFRS profit by component The key components of adjusted profit before tax are total adjusted operating income (which is broken down into fee based revenue and spread/risk margin), total adjusted operating expenses and share of associates’ and joint ventures’ profit before tax. These components provide a meaningful analysis of our adjusted results.
The table below provides a reconciliation of movements between adjusted profit component measures and their closest IFRS equivalent.
Tax on adjusted profit (108) – 42 – – (166) – (232) Total tax expense
Share of associates’ and joint ventures’ tax (41) – – – 41 – – – N/A Adjusted profit after tax 705 – 2 – – – 25 732
IFRS IFRS term 2016 £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
Adjusted operating income 1,785 16,578 – 13 – 302 51 18,729 Total revenue Adjusted operating expenses (1,156) (16,578) (269) – – – – (18,003) Total expenses Capital management 13 – – (13) – – – – N/A Share of associates’ and joint ventures’ profit before tax 76 – – – (13) – – 63
Fee based revenue as presented in the analysis of adjusted profit before tax 2,111 1,651
 Earned premium on German insurance business relates to fees earned on insurance contracts classified as fee based revenue in the analysis of adjusted profit before tax. In the consolidated income statement these changes are part of Insurance and participating investment contract premium income.
IFRS Net cash flow from operating activities – Total Group Consolidated statement of cash flows
Less: Net cash flows from operating activities – Standard Life Pensions and Savings, India and China life and Other (1,846) (446) Net cash flow from operating activities – Aberdeen Standard Investments 348 290 Pro forma adjustment for pre-merger results1 140 331 Restructuring and corporate transaction expenses paid – Aberdeen Standard Investments 63 22 Adjusted cash generation – Aberdeen Standard Investments (Pro forma basis) 551 643 1 The Pro forma adjustment adds pre-merger results for Aberdeen which are excluded from the consolidated statement of cash flows.
Further details on the reconciling items between adjusted profit before tax and adjusted cash generation are included in tables (i) to (iii).
Group total current tax 10 (243) (333) Less: current tax – Aberdeen Standard Investments and India and China life 186 180 Current tax – Standard Life Pensions and Savings and Other (57) (82) 25 (153) (170) 17 Current tax expense attributable to policyholders’ returns 39 – 150 – Current tax credit relating to adjusting items (10) (20) (37) (2)
(iii) Fixed and intangible assets adjustment The fixed and intangible assets adjustment adds back depreciation and amortisation that is included within adjusted profit for the period and deducts additions for the period where the depreciation or amortisation of those additions will be included within adjusted profit. The following table reconciles equipment and intangible asset movements in the Group financial statements to the fixed and intangible asset adjustment used for the Standard Life Pensions and Savings segment and Other.
Standard Life Pensions and Savings 232 – – – 35 267 India and China life 9 – – – (1) 8 1 Figures are ‘core cash generated from operating activities’ which was an APM presented by the Aberdeen Group as reported in the audited financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2016. 2 Adjusted to bring into line with Standard Life Group accounting practice to prepare financial results for the period 1 January to 31 December. 3 Adjusted to align the calculation of the Aberdeen Group’s core cash generated from operating activities APM to adjusted cash generation of the Standard Life Aberdeen
Adjusted diluted earnings per share is calculated on adjusted profit after tax. The weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted during the year to assume the conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares, such as share options granted to employees. Details on the calculation of adjusted diluted earnings per share are set out in Note 11 in the Group financial statements section.
The average revenue yield on fee based business is a measure that illustrates the average margin being earned on the assets that we manage or administer. This ratio is used by management to assess performance and reported to the Board and executive committee. Following the merger, the Group changed the methodology to exclude performance fees from the fee revenue yield calculation. The reason for the change is to align the approach with that used by Aberdeen and to improve consistency with other asset management peers.
Adjusted profit after tax 864 861 705 579 Dividend paid on preference shares (5) (5) – –
Adjusted profit after tax attributable to equity holders of the Company 859 856 705 579
Basic earnings per share N/A N/A 29.8 18.7 Adjusted diluted earnings per share 28.9 28.8 29.9 29.3
Average AUMA (£bn)1 Fee based revenue (£m)1 Fee revenue yield (bps)1
Standard Life Aberdeen total N/A N/A 2,763 2,686 N/A N/A 1 Average AUMA includes £12.1bn (2016: £8.6bn) of average AUM relating to HDFC AMC which is excluded when calculating fee revenue yield. Fee based revenue includes £26m (2016: £33m) of performance fees which are excluded when calculating fee revenue yield.
10. Supplementary Information continued 10.3 Assets under management and administration and net flows (Pro forma basis) Definition Purpose and changes made
AUMA is a measure of the total assets we manage or administer on behalf of our clients and customers. It includes Aberdeen Standard Investments assets under management (AUM) and Standard Life Pensions & Savings assets under administration (AUA), as well as AUM and AUA from our associate and joint venture businesses in India and China based on our ownership percentages.
AUA is a measure of the total assets we administer for customers through products such as pensions, platforms and ISAs, as well as assets backing our Spread/risk products such as annuities.
Certain items previously included in AUA for Standard Life plc are now no longer included. These items are other corporate assets and assets which do not generate revenue from products. Comparatives have been restated.
A reconciliation of AUMA and net flows to previously disclosed information is provided in section 10.5.
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, including annuity payments.
As an investment company, AUMA and net flows are key drivers of shareholder value.
Closing AUMA at 31 Dec 2017 £bn £bn £bn £bn £bn £bn £bn
Standard Life Pensions and Savings 90.2 3.3 (6.0) (2.7) 4.7 – 92.2 Third party strategic partner life business 181.3 12.3 (24.8) (12.5) 10.8 – 179.6
Standard Life Pensions and Savings mature 60.5 1.5 (5.6) (4.1) 3.8 – 60.2
Standard Life Pensions and Savings growth 84.9 13.5 (7.6) 5.9 9.2 11.1 111.1
Standard Life Pensions and Savings: UK Retail 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.0
Standard Life Pensions and Savings net flows 0.9 0.8 1.2 1.1 0.1 294 Standard Life Aberdeen 2017
Closing AUM at 31 Dec 2017 Breakdown of growth channel asset classes £bn £bn £bn £bn £bn £bn £bn
Private credit and solutions – 0.3 – 0.3 – – 0.3
Total growth assets under management 309.1 50.9 (73.0) (22.1) 20.6 (3.7) 303.9
Closing AUM at 31 Dec 2017 12 months ended 31 December 2017 £bn £bn £bn £bn £bn £bn £bn
Private credit and solutions – – – – – – –
Total growth assets under management 291.5 55.1 (81.2) (26.1) 45.6 (1.9) 309.1
Standard Life Pensions and Savings 83.1 3.5 (5.6) (2.1) 9.2 – 90.2 Third party strategic partner life business 169.1 12.9 (24.4) (11.5) 23.7 – 181.3 296 Standard Life Aberdeen 2017
Asia Pacific (APAC) 22.7 25.2 North America 60.2 63.9 Total growth channels 303.9 309.1 10.4.3 Aberdeen Standard Investments total assets under management by asset class 2017 2016
Standard Life plc AUA as reported 307.4 42.1 (44.7) (2.6) 52.3 N/A 357.1
Adjusted profit Adjusted profit before tax (previously named operating profit before tax) is the Group’s key alternative performance measure. Adjusted profit excludes impacts arising from short-term fluctuations in investment return and economic assumption changes in the Group’s wholly owned 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.
Articles The Articles of Association detail the provisions relating to the regulation of a company in terms of the rights of its members and the authority of its directors.
Assets under management and administration (AUMA) AUMA is a measure of the total assets we manage or administer on behalf of our clients and customers. It includes Aberdeen Standard Investments assets under management (AUM) and Standard Life Pensions and Savings assets under administration (AUA), as well as AUM and AUA from our associate and joint venture businesses in India and China based on our ownership percentages.
Capital surplus This is a regulatory measure of our financial strength and is measured on a Solvency II basis.
Group, Standard Life Aberdeen Group or Standard Life Aberdeen Relates to the Company and its subsidiaries following the completion of the merger of Standard Life plc and Aberdeen Asset Management PLC on 14 August 2017.
Heritage With Profits Fund (HWPF) The Heritage With Profits Fund contains all business – both with profits and non-profit – written in the UK, Irish or German branches within the Standard Life Group before demutualisation, with the exception of the classes of business which the Scheme of Demutualisation allocated to funds outside the HWPF. The HWPF also contains increments to this business.
Mature book/business For Aberdeen Standard Investments, mature books represent the management of assets on behalf of strategic partner life businesses including Standard Life Group and a number of third party strategic partners such as Lloyds Banking Group and Phoenix. For Standard Life Pensions and Savings, mature books include UK mature Retail, UK and Europe spread/risk based business and the with profits business in Germany which closed to new business in April 2015.
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. Results on a pro forma basis are prepared as if Standard Life plc and Aberdeen had always been merged and are included on this basis to assist in explaining trends in financial performance by showing a full 12 months performance for the combined Group for both the current year and prior year. This is applicable to the results of the Group and Aberdeen Standard Investments.
Recourse cash flows (RCF) Certain cash flows arising in the HWPF on specified blocks of UK and Ireland business, which are transferred out of the fund annually and accrue to the ultimate benefit of equity holders, as determined by the Scheme of Demutualisation.
Scheme of Demutualisation or the Scheme The scheme pursuant to Part VII of, and Schedule 12 to, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, under which substantially all of the long-term business of SLAC was transferred to Standard Life Assurance Limited on 10 July 2006.
SLAC The Standard Life Assurance Company (renamed The Standard Life Assurance Company 2006 on 10 July 2006).
Spread/risk business Spread/risk business mainly comprises products where we provide a guaranteed level of income for our customers in return for an investment, for example, annuities. The ‘spread’ referred to in the title primarily relates to the difference between the guaranteed amount we pay to customers and the actual return on the assets over the period of the contract.
Spread/risk margin Spread/risk margin is a component of adjusted profit and reflects the margin earned on spread/risk business. This includes net earned premiums, claims and benefits paid, net investment return using longterm assumptions and reserving changes. Spread/risk margin excludes the impact of economic assumption changes, which are not included in determining adjusted profit.
Standard Life Group Prior to demutualisation on 10 July 2006, SLAC and its subsidiaries and, from demutualisation on 10 July 2006 to 13 August 2017, Standard Life plc and its subsidiaries.
Strategic partner life business A measure of the assets that Aberdeen Standard Investments manages on behalf of Standard Life Aberdeen Group companies and under other long-term life book partnership agreements with third party companies such as Phoenix Group.
Range of shares Number of holders % of total holders Number of shares % of total shares
Non-financial highlights Women in Finance Charter commitments Ranked in top 3% of companies in FTSE4Good Index Board 31 Dec 2017: 25% (June 2020 target: 33%)
Employee Engagement/Enablement was a KPI in the Standard Life plc Annual report and accounts 2016. In 2017 we focused our survey on sentiment towards the merger – see page 29 for results of this survey. We intend to report Engagement/Enablement results as a KPI in the Annual report and accounts 2018.
The KPIs that we use were revised following the merger to reflect the increased asset management focus of the Group. Several KPIs previously used by Standard Life Group are no longer reported following this review. The KPIs that we use may not be directly comparable with similarly named measures used by other companies. See Supplementary information in Section 10 for further information.
The Annual report and accounts 2017 and the Strategic report and financial highlights 2017 are published on the Group’s website at www.standardlifeaberdeen.com/annualreport Access to the website is available outside the UK, where comparable information may be different.
Integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors The consideration of ESG factors is fundamental to us as an investor, asset owner and corporate. Details of our approach to ESG are integrated throughout this report, and in our Corporate sustainability and stewardship report 2017 which can be found at www.standardlifeaberdeen.com/annualreport