Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management formally merged on 14 August 2017.
Mr Beveridge said the cost savings as the firms move to better integrate are likely to be in the area of £250m, higher than the number it had previously suggested, which was £200m.
He said that while advisers have shown they are willing to pay for active management on behalf of their clients if the performance justifies it, he is aware of the rise of passive investments and the resultant pressure on active fees.
He said Standard Life Aberdeen “could be more aggressive” in terms of the fees and charges it levies on investors once the combination of the two businesses is complete.
He said: "We want to be as efficient as possible and to provide good service and support. We think service is important, and we think that if the performance is good enough no one questions the price. But we could be more aggressive on price."
In April the Financial Conduct Authority declared fund management companies must prove they give investors a worthwhile service for their fees as part of a raft of measures being introduced by the regualtor to ensure asset managers act in the best interests of their clients.
In a 74 page paper the regulator said it will require fund managers to make an annual assessment of how their products provide value for the fees paid by investors.
However in a concession to the industry following feedback to its Asset Management Study, the FCA has tweaked the wording of its rules to shift focus away from the phrase "value for money" to a general requirement that fund managers "assess and justify to their fund investors the charges taken from the funds they manage in the context of the overall service and value provided".
Fund houses must assess the value of each fund against a non-exhaustive list of prescribed measures, conclude each fund offers good value to investors or, where it does not, take corrective action, all the while explaining the assessment annually in a report made available to the public.
Dan Kemp, who runs the managed portfolio service at Morningstar, said he views cost of investing as a significant driver of returns, and as such, tends always to have significant exposure to passive funds in the portfolios he constructs for clients.
He added that he expects there to be “rationalisation” of the fund range operated by the combined businesses, with funds being culled or merged away where there is duplication, with the largest and best performer fund from either firm continuing to exist.
Paul Gibson, an adviser at Granite Financial Planning in Aberdeen, said he rarely uses active investment products due to the level of fees.
He said he has seen "little evidence" of the fees charged by active fund managers coming down, despite regulatory changes and discussions about falling margins.
Mr Beveridge's comments come in light of Aberdeen Standard Investments announcing this morning (29 May) it will return £1.75bn of cash to shareholders once it completes the sale of its Phoenix Insurance Group.
Sir Gerry Grimstone, the chairman of the company, said returning cash to shareholders will continue to be the policy of the company in the coming years.
Separately Mr Beveridge told FTAdviser he expected impact investment funds, that is, funds which invest in a way that recognises the impact on society that companies have, to grow in popularity.
After a recent investment conference the company held for advisers, Standard Life Aberdeen placed a feedback form with each attendee, and asked them what products they were most interested in and to which they wanted more access.
Mr Beveridge said the overwhelming majority cited impacted investment funds as the area that is most interesting.
He said: "We had an event for advisers, and at the end there were feedback forms.
"On the forms were five options, asking investors what they wanted to see more of. And the big majority of the replies were asking for more on impact investments."
Mr Gibson said his firm has not experienced a huge demand for ethical sustainable portfolios.
"We all like to see companies operating in a sustainable fashion but it has not translated so far into many client enquiries.”
Standard Life Aberdeen has constructed a new headquarters in Edinburgh following the merger, with Standard vacating most of its previous London office in the Gerkhin building, with staff now based at the building that had been Aberdeen's headquarters at Bow Bells in the City of London.
Mr Beveridge said integrating the two businesses has been an easier experience from a Standard Life perspective because the company had previously acquired Ignis, and so had experience of putting businesses together.
He added most of the clients of the combined firm no longer have questions about how merger will impact on them, but instead ask about markets and other questions typically asked by advisers of their investment firm.
david.thorpe@ft.com
