YESTERDAY was a tale of two Scottish insurance bosses: one who positioned his company for the wave of change that has engulfed the industry, the other tasked with belatedly guiding his institution in that direction.
In Edinburgh, Standard Life chief executive David Nish announced a 6.5% dividend hike at the former mutual. But in London, Aviva chairman David McFarlane slashed pay-outs by 44% as he and chief executive Mark Wilson sought wriggle room to carry out their turnaround plans at Aviva.
Ostensibly yesterday's figures were a profit miss for Standard Life and its shares gave up some recent gains. But the disappointments were on the periphery.
The bigger picture is that Standard Life appears to be on the right track by focusing on opportunities in the UK.
After regulatory changes shook up the financial advice market, money is flooding into its investment arm. It was a similar picture at its UK long-term savings business.
Some doubts remain. The hoped-for gains from pensions auto-enrolment have yet to materialise, although Mr Nish's assertion that opt-out rates are amounting to just 11% to 12% will cheer many.
It also remains to be seen if the cost-cutting pursued by Mr Nish since his arrival leaves the business overstretched.
At Aviva, too reliant on commission-driven business at home and over-ambitious overseas, shareholders now have confidence that Messers McFarlane and Wilson will point take in the right direction. But Standard Life's investors should be pleased that it already seems to be going the right way.
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