Schroders’ assets under management nudged up 3 per cent in the first quarter this year, though the value of their mutual funds dropped by £6bn.
Aum rose to £753bn from £732bn at the end of last year, the group said in a statement to the stock exchange this morning (April 28).
However, mutual funds dropped in value from £116bn to £110bn in the three months to the end of March this year.
Schroders’ solutions business saw its Aum rise from £198bn to £235bn in the quarter, driven by the acquisition of River and Mercantile’s solutions business, which completed in February.
The £230mn deal, announced at the end of last year, saw River and Mercantile’s chief executive James Barham join Schroders as part of the purchase of the former’s fiduciary arm.
When the sale was announced, River and Mercantile Solutions had £42bn in assets under management. The £230m sale price represented a 28.2 per cent premium on its market cap of August 9, the day before the firm announced a potential sale.
Earlier this year, the Schroders Investment Solutions business, which operates model portfolio and fund of fund operations for financial advisers, said it is targeting £10bn in assets under management by 2025.
Schroders saw £8.1bn invested on a net basis into its funds in the year to December 31 2021.
The group said the demand for higher margin equity products offset industry fee pressures, which led to net operating revenue rising 17 per cent to £2.4bn.
Net income rose 18 per cent to £2.6bn, and the group will pay a final dividend of 85p per share, up from 79p for the previous year.
Pre-tax profits rose 25 per cent to £764mn.
sally.hickey@ft.com
