Abrdn has defended its decision to drop most of the vowels from its name following claims that the brand makeover has made it a victim of “corporate bullying”.

Sir Douglas Flint, chairman of the FTSE 250 asset manager, insisted the business was “proud” of its decision to change its name from Standard Life Aberdeen to Abrdn in 2021.

He argued that keeping all of its vowels would have weakened the company’s brand recognition, even despite the ridicule it has since received.

Speaking at Abrdn’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, he said: “We could have used the name Aberdeen spelt out with all the letters and the vowels.

“But any internet search would have taken you to Aberdeen Football Club or the city of Aberdeen. You can’t protect the brand that belongs to something like a city.”

Abrdn – pronounced Aberdeen – has been mocked widely in recent years over the controversial rebrand.

Critics have joked that the company developed a case of “irritable vowel syndrome” and have referred to Stephen Bird, the company’s chief executive, as Stphn Brd.

Speaking to shareholders, Sir Douglas said: “Anyone who has done a rebranding will say the most important thing is that people know who you are. Well, people know who we are.”

His comments come weeks after Peter Branner, Abrdn’s chief investment officer, criticised the media for mocking the company’s new name.

He told Financial News: “I understand that corporate bullying to some extent is part of the game with the press, even though it’s a little childish to keep hammering the missing vowels in our name.

“Would you do that with an individual? How would you look at a person who makes fun of your name day in, day out? It’s probably not ethical to do it. But apparently with companies it is different.”

Mr Bird on Wednesday told shareholders that Abrdn’s turnaround is “on track” months after announcing plans to axe around 500 jobs.

It gained an extra ￡800m of customer funds last quarter, compared to the ￡6.2bn outflow recorded during the same period last year.

The investment firm’s assets under management grew to ￡507.7bn during the first three months of the year, up 3pc on the previous quarter as market conditions improved.

Shareholders approved the massive pay rises handed to Abrdn’s bosses, with 87pc voting in favour of the 2023 remuneration report.

This included Mr Bird’s ￡2.14m pay deal, which includes a bonus of nearly 800,000.

The annual shareholder meeting, held in Edinburgh, was briefly interrupted by protestors calling for the money manager to stop investing in fossil fuels.