Industry veteran Peter Harrison has pushed the FTSE 100 firm into private markets during his eight years in charge and plans to finish his first novel when he retires next year. By Mark Latham
One of the UK’s largest asset managers Schroders has started its search for a new chief executive after announcing that Peter Harrison is to retire after eight years at the helm.
In a statement the £751bn London-based firm said it “anticipated an orderly transition during 2025”.
Headhunting firm Russell Reynolds has been tasked with finding Harrison’s successor at the FTSE100 firm, which was founded in 1804.
Potential internal candidates, according to the Financial Times, include CFO Richard Oldfield, global CIO Johanna Kyrklund, global head of private assets Georg Wunderlin and COO Meagen Burnett.
Schroders’ founding family, after which it takes it name, remains the blue-chip firm’s largest shareholder with 44% of the firm while Harrison, who has been chief executive since 2016, is one of the longest-serving heads of a FTSE 100 firm, taking over two months before Britain’s Brexit referendum.
During his time at the top, Harrison (57) has moved the company into private markets and other higher-yielding areas of investment markets to compensate for a drop-off in the firm’s core traditional active management business.
The outgoing chief, who last year was paid £6.3 million, is credited with Schroders’ push to develop its wealth management offering, including a joint venture with Lloyds Banking Group in 2018.
One of the most notable acquisitions during Harrison’s period as chief executive was securing a majority stake in one of Europe’s largest renewable infrastructure managers, Greencoat Capital, in 2022.
Despite reports in 2021 that Schroders had tried to acquire M&G, some critics have nevertheless said that Harrison should have made larger and more ambitious acquisitions during his time at the top.
Other deals include the purchase of London-based family office Sandaire in 2020, acquiring Adveq’s private asset business in 2018, taking a majority stake in impact investment manager BlueOrchard in 2019, a minority stake in wealth manager Benchmark Capital in 2021, the 2021 acquisition of River & Mercantile’s solutions business and the purchase in 2022 of Netherlands-based Cairn Real Estate and a minority stake in digital assets firm Forteus.
From posting pre-tax profits of £618 million in 2016, the year Harrison became chief executive, these fell to £488 million last year. Meanwhile the group’s share price has fallen 15% during his time at the top while assets under management have more than doubled. From a peak in September 2021, Schroders’ share price has since fallen by more than 40%.
Voting rights
Under Harrison’s leadership, Schroders also embarked on changes to the firm’s ownership structure with the aim of more equitably aligning shareholders’ voting rights under which non-voting shares were in 2021 converted to ordinary shares with voting rights.
Other achievements include steering the company through the pandemic and lockdowns (Schroders was one of the first City firms to introduce a hybrid working policy) and overseeing a relocation of company headquarters from Gresham Street in the City to a new site at London Wall.
Harrison started his career at Schroders in 1988 after studying business administration at Bath University.
He later worked at other asset managers including JP Morgan Asset Management and Newton Investment Management. He also worked as group chief investment officer of Deutsche Asset Management (now DWS) and as chairman and chief executive of investment boutique RWC Partners.
In 2013 he returned to Schroders as global head of equities before taking over in April 2016 from chief executive Michael Dobson when Dobson was elevated to chair.
Harrison currently sits on the UK Treasury’s Asset Management Taskforce and the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce. He was previously chair and is currently a director of the Investment Association, the UK’s asset management trade body.
He also currently sits on the advisory board of venture capital firm Antler, is a director of FCLT Global and is chair of Business in the Community, King Charles’ responsible business charity.
In a company statement Harrison, who will continue as a company director until a successor is in place, said: “Having started my career as a graduate at Schroders, it has been an immense privilege to be chief executive.
“I believe that now is the right time for the board to begin the search for my successor and to do so transparently with our stakeholders. Growth, and a clear focus on investment outperformance for our clients will remain our top priority.”
“I care about the firm and our people deeply,” he said. “I believe that now is the right time for the board to being the search for my successor and to do so transparently with our stakeholders.”
Elizabeth Corley, chair of Schroders, said: “The board recognises that in Peter, Schroders has had an outstanding CEO over the past eight years.
“During his tenure, the business has undergone a remarkable transformation to become a global, diversified active investor across both public and private markets, as well as a leader in UK wealth management, more than doubling assets under management to over £750bn.”
Harrison plans to spend at least some of his retirement completing his first novel, set in the City, that he began during the Covid lockdown.
First published in the May/June 2024 issue of Funds Europe
