UK asset manager Schroders today confirmed one of the City’s worst kept secrets – that its chief executive Michael Dobson is stepping down after 14 years.
Peter Harrison – the company’s head of investment who was appointed to the board in 2014, sparking theories about Schroders’ succession plans – will succeed Dobson.
During Dobson’s near one-and-a-half decade tenure, Schroders’ assets under management (AuM) tripled and its profits reached a “record level” of £600 million (€773 million) at one point, according to Lord Howard, a senior independent director at the firm.
The news of Dobson’s move (he remains at Schroders as non-executive chairman after April 4) comes on the same day that the company released financial results for 2015.
Schroders’ AuM increased by £13.5 billion over the year to reach £313.5 billion and profits before tax rose 14% to £589 million.
Schroders’ net £13 billion inflows were down from the £24.8 billion seen in 2014.
The firm’s financial results for 2015 are in stark contrast to one of its main rivals, Aberdeen Asset Management. Aberdeen saw its AuM fall by £40.7 billion to £283.7 billion when it released its 2015 results.
Dobson said: “Schroders is well placed for a more challenging environment with a highly diversified business and a strong financial position.”
©2016 funds europe
