The purpose of FTSE250 Standard Life is to decommission closed life funds 'safely, innovatively and profitably' – improving returns for customers and delivering value for its shareholders. A fund is defined as ‘closed’ if no new policies are being sold. The group has £68.5bn of assets under management and serves more that six million policy holders. It has two core segments: life assurance (Phoenix Life) and asset management (Ignis Asset Management), which together employ around 1,200 people across the UK and Channel Islands.