Aberdeen Group names new chairman on fee of £475,000
“Aberdeen has transformed its performance materially over the last few years, building the foundations for long-term value creation” – Torbjörn Magnusson
Scottish investment heavyweight Aberdeen Group has named Torbjörn Magnusson as its next chairman.
The move follows the firm’s announcement last year that Sir Douglas Flint would stand down as chair by its 2026 annual general meeting. Since then, Jonathan Asquith has served as interim chair.
Magnusson has joined Aberdeen’s board as a non-executive director and chair-designate with immediate effect. He will become chairman following relevant regulatory approvals and receive a fee of £475,000 per annum.
The firm said his appointment concluded a “rigorous search process that considered a wide range of candidates with diverse experience”.
Asquith said: “[Torbjörn] is a highly regarded and versatile international business leader who brings more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning a breadth of CEO, non-executive director and chair roles across large financial services businesses.
“Torbjörn has a particularly strong track record of delivering growth and creating shareholder value over many years in businesses serving personal and corporate customers. He knows the opportunities and challenges emerging from the fast-changing dynamics of the financial services industry.
“He also understands the complex stakeholder environment of running a modern listed company and has direct experience of working in the UK regulatory framework.”
Magnusson served as chair of Nordea Bank Abp from 2019 to 2022 and as deputy chair from 2022 to 2023. He was chief executive and president of Sampo for nearly six years, stepping down in 2025 after developing the business into one of the Nordic region’s largest financial services groups. He also led Sampo's £1.7 billion acquisition of Hastings, strengthening the group’s presence in the UK market.
Magnusson, who began his career with Arthur Andersen, said: “Aberdeen already plays a vital role in helping millions of people turn their financial goals into reality, and with the wealth and investments markets set to grow substantially over the next few years, there are exciting opportunities ahead.
“Aberdeen has transformed its performance materially over the last few years, building the foundations for long-term value creation. I am very much looking forward to working with the board, and with Jason [Windsor, CEO] and his management team, to help the company continue that progress and achieve its ambitions.”
In July, Aberdeen hailed a strong first half with a stand-out performance at its Interactive Investor arm.
Posting an adjusted interim operating profit of £151 million, up 21 per cent on the year before, the group said it was confident in hitting its targets for the full year. Group assets under management and administration (AUMA) grew by 4 per cent year-on-year to £579.4bn while net operating revenue nudged up 2 per cent to £643m. The interim dividend was held at 7.3p per share.
Windsor said: “In a dynamic market, the group produced a strong performance. Interactive Investor performed very strongly, delivering record net inflows in the first half of the year, with customer numbers up by 14 per cent to 525k.
“In Adviser, adjusted operating profit was broadly stable on last year at £41m. We have made significant improvements to service, the proposition and client experience, however we have more work to do to achieve growth in flows.”
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