ABERDEEN Standard Investments has seen eight former senior employees elect to join a rival amid the fallout from the merger that created the business.

Insurance giant Aviva has announced the appointment of the eight managers 11 months after Aberdeen Standard Investments was created following the £11bn merger between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management.

The team will work for the Aviva Investors operation in the new office it is opening in Edinburgh this month. The office will have capacity for 60 people.

The recruits include Mikhail Zverev and Alistair Way, who will join Aviva Investors as heads of global equities and global emerging market equities respectively.

They will report to David Cumming, who quit as head of equities at Standard Life Investments shortly after the merger with AAM was unveiled in March last year.

Mr Cumming became head of equities at Aviva Investors in January. He said yesterday: “We are delighted to attract such high-calibre, experienced individuals with strong performance track records.”

An Aberdeen Standard Investments spokesperson said: “Inevitably when you integrate two investment teams there will be some departures … we have created one of the largest and best resourced equities teams in the industry.”

The spokesperson said of the former employees: “We’re grateful for their hard work over the years and are pleased that they have now found new roles in Edinburgh.”

The eight former ASI employees joining Aviva include Henry Flockhart, Adam McInally, Jaime Ramos Martin, Ross Mathison, Jonathan Toub and Will Malcom.

They will be joined as portfolio managers at Aviva Investors by Stephanie Niven from Tesco Pension Investment, who will be based in London.

Aviva investors managed around £353bn at 30 September. Aberdeen Standard Investments managed £575bn at December 31.