Blog

Important – Delay to Standard Life (abrdn) Platform Upgrade

29/04/2024

Further to our communication of 19th January, we have been advised by abrdn (formerly Standard Life) that they have delayed their platform upgrade.

The upgrade work is now due to commence on Thursday 16th February 2023, and will affect both your and our access to the platform.

As you are aware the abrdn platform will be unavailable for a number of days.

During this period:

•  We will be unable to process any new instructions. This includes processing new withdrawals, performing fund switches or selling/buying funds.
•  You will not be able to obtain a valuation via the Client Portal, or by contacting abrdn or Gibbs Denley.

Additionally, if our Investment Committee decide to make any changes to our Investment Model Portfolios following the committee meeting this month, the rebalance will be carried out on Wednesday 1st February 2023. This will stop any changes being made to your portfolio from 9:00am Wednesday 1st February 2023 until 9:00am on Thursday 9th February 2023 – including being able to process ad-hoc withdrawals or starting to take regular income. We will action any requests as soon as the rebalance settles.

Essential information and revised dates for the platform’s availability while the works are carried out is below:

Platform Availability: 

Q: Will your regular withdrawal still be made?
A: Yes. If you have a regular withdrawal, or a new regular withdrawal which was requested before Thursday 16^th February 2023, it will still pay to you on the expected payment date.

Q: Will your ad-hoc withdrawal, requested before 5:00pm Thursday 16^th February 2023, still be paid on the expected date?
A: Yes. If you request an ad-hoc withdrawal prior to 5:00pm Thursday 16^th February 2023, it will still be paid to you on the expected date.

Q: You are considering taking an ad-hoc withdrawal or beginning to take regular withdrawals, which may fall during the platform upgrade period.
A: We will need to process all requests before Thursday 16^th February 2023 at 5:00pm. You must contact us before this if you would like your withdrawal actioned before the upgrade starts.

Q: What will happen if you wish to make any other changes to your investments during the platform upgrade period?
A: Unfortunately, we will be unable to process any changes to your investments during the platform upgrade. You should still contact us in the normal way during this period and we will process your request as soon as the platform is available on Wednesday 22^nd February 2023.

Q: When can I check my portfolio valuation?
A: By contacting us, or checking the Client Portal, before 5:00pm on Thursday 16^th February 2023 and then again as soon as the platform is available on Wednesday 22^nd February 2023

Please also note that our Investment Committee will be meeting during this period, to consider rebalancing the GDIM Investment Model Portfolios.

We are still here to help you as usual, and if you have any questions, please do contact a member of our team.

If you have any questions, please do contact a member of our team who will be happy to help.