Asset manager Phoenix Group says it will invest in Standard Life’s brand as it bids to boost the savings firm’s presence across four key markets.

It is “pursuing a growth strategy that will see Standard Life increase its presence in a number of key markets – workplace pensions, bulk purchase annuities, lifetime mortgages and retail savings”.

The group says it will boost its product portfolio and upgrade its digital operations in these businesses.

The move comes after Phoenix bought the  Standard Life brand from Standard Life Aberdeen in May.

Phoenix bought Standard Life Aberdeen’s European and UK insurance units for £3.2bn in 2018.

The move created a sprawling network of products and businesses at both companies which shared the Standard Life brand.

The agreement in May also saw Standard Life Aberdeen buy back several savings products it had sold to Phoenix three years earlier in a two-way transaction, in which Standard Life Aberdeen paid £60.5m to the asset manager.

Phoenix says as a result of the “profile and strength” of the Standard Life brand it now owns, its Phoenix bulk purchase annuity business and its equity release business will trade as Standard Life.

It adds a range of retail lifetime mortgage products will be marketed through Standard Life Home Finance, as part of a deal struck with retirement funds firm Key Group last month.

Standard Life chief executive Andy Curran, part of Phoenix, says: “Standard Life is one of the most recognised names in life and pensions and we have ambitious investment plans built on its great heritage.

“With the capital and financial strength of Phoenix Group, and Standard Life’s extensive expertise in pensions and retirement, our ambition is to create an even more customer-centric business with sustainability at its core.

“Accelerating our proposition innovation is central to this investment, from delivering better retirement income solutions using the strength of our group balance sheet to further harnessing data and digital technology to provide more timely and relevant information to customers.

“The investment we are making in our propositions and digital channels will allow us to deliver broader retirement options and make Standard Life relevant to even more customers and advisers now and in the years to come.”

Phoenix added that it will refresh the Standard Life brand with “a series of subtle changes” that will focus on “modernising the visual identity and tone of voice, and improving digital accessibility”.

The asset manager, which has £300bn under management and 13 million customers, did not disclose how much it would invest to revamp Standard Life.