Schroders’ assets under management dropped 4 per cent in the year ended December 31, 2022, while its private assets business achieved a “record year”.
In a trading update today (March 2), Schroders said AUM fell to £737.5bn for the full year, compared to £766.7bn in 2021.
The firm said acquisitions contributed £52bn but the overall drop was down to market and foreign exchange movements.
After a strong first half, volatility in the fourth quarter led to net outflows for the year of £7.6bn versus inflows of £37.3bn in 2021.
Peter Harrison, group chief executive, said: "The market challenges of 2022 provided a stress test for our strategy.
“I am encouraged by our resilient performance and that our strategy is working.
"The businesses we have been building in recent years - across wealth management, private assets and solutions - performed strongly. They are all playing an increasingly important part in our growth and now represent 53 per cent of the group's AUM.”
The results showed that Schroders Capital, its private assets business, had a “record year” with £17.5bn of fundraising, of which there was particular strength in real estate and private equity.
Despite the market dynamics, the wealth management advice businesses also delivered strong organic growth of 6.6 per cent.
“Our strength more broadly is underpinned by our approach to sustainability,” Harrison said.
“We were early investors in ESG and the technology that underpins our capabilities in this area. This has proven to be the right decision and we will continue to invest in 2023 and beyond.”
Elsewhere, the results revealed that mutual funds also dropped in value with net outflows of £5.9bn compared to inflows of £8.1bn.
Schroders said this was impacted by risk-off client sentiment across most regions.
Pre-tax profits fell 23 per cent to £586.9mn from £764mn in 2021. The firm said this was impacted by mark-to-market movements on balance sheet items and acquisition related costs.
Harrison added: “2023 has started positively, particularly in Schroders Solutions. We are confident about our trajectory: our clients require broad, actively-managed solutions and we have built the capability to meet that need."
The board has recommended a final dividend of 15 pence per share, making a total dividend of 21.5 pence per share.
sonia.rach@ft.com
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