In its missive to the London Stock Exchange, Resolution announced that Clive Cowdery, non-executive director, and former FSA boss John Tiner, also a non-executive director, are stepping down from the board of the life consolidator, which they founded in 2008.
The big investment strategy news for Friends Life was that it has appointed Schroders to manage a range of funds on behalf of its customers.
From the fourth quarter of 2014, Schroders will assume responsibility for £12.2bn of Friends Life’s multi asset and equity portfolios on behalf of Friends Life’s UK business.
Andy Briggs, group chief executive at Friends Life, said: “In addition to Schroders’ appointment we will also be bringing more funds in-house so that FLI will manage more than £20bn of assets.
“We believe FLI’s expertise in the sterling government and credit markets, combined with the multi-asset and equity skills of Schroders offer an exciting investment proposition for our existing and future customers.”
John Van Der Wielen, chief executive of the UK and international divisions of Friends Life, said the group would aim to scoop up more of the auto-enrolment market for small and medium-sized businesses in 2014/2015, seeing regulatory change to the workplace pensions market as a “major opportunity for growth”.
Meanwhile, a sale of the advisory network Sesame Bankhall Group is still nowhere in sight as its parent group Friends Life admits that SBG made “disappointing losses” of £19m in the last financial year.
The £19m comprised fines and other associated costs, for which the company said it had already made provision, but there was no mention of any sale.
Results Snapshot
The UK arm of Friends Life made an operating profit of £40m, up from losses of £32m in 2012, as a result of the group adapting better to new business and reduced new business strain and increased surplus on its back-of-book business.
Overall operating profit for the group also rose from £302m to £461m year-on-year.
The corporate benefits division grew its assets by £2.3bn to £20.1bn and had 180,000 employees within 274 schemes, covering 203 employers staging for auto-enrolment.
The value of new protection business rose 21 per cent to £75m and in retirement income, the value of new business jumped 41 per cent to £83m.
