Standard Life, Aberdeen to build passive business post-merger?

The takeover of Aberdeen Asset Management by Standard Life is unlikely to have a huge impact on the two UK firms’ Asian operations, but it should bring the merged entity the global scale to better support an index investment business, say industry observers. The rise of passive asset management is inexorable, noted Justin Ong, asset and wealth management practice leader for Asia Pacific at PwC. “If [active managers] want to stem outflows, there is no choice but to get better at ac…