Standard Life’s disciplined approach is impressive compared to its old-fashioned stock-picking prior to Keith Skeoch’s arrival in 1999 from HSBC Securities, where he was chief economist.

Last year the company reported third-party net business gains up 67% to £5.7bn (€6.3bn). The money-weighted average of Standard Life's funds over one, three, five and 10 years is above median. Skeoch pays close attention to this data.