UK fund firms Schroders and abrdn name new CEOs to reboot ailing fortunes

By Sinead Cruise

LONDON (Reuters) -UK fund managers Schroders and abrdn named new CEOs on Tuesday, appointing insiders to reboot performance at firms running nearly 1.3 trillion pounds ($1.7 trillion) in assets against a backdrop of skittish investor sentiment and industry-wide pressure on fees.

Schroders appointed current chief financial officer Richard Oldfield to succeed Peter Harrison in November, while abrdn - which had faced calls to break up amid shrinking demand for its funds - separately announced interim boss and former CFO Jason Windsor would become its permanent CEO.

Both take over at a testing time for the asset management industry.

Mid-sized British firms like Schroders and abrdn focused on active funds have been particularly squeezed by competition from cheaper index-tracking products sold by giants such as BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors, as well as inflationary pressures on costs.

Analysts say these structural forces are largely out of any CEO's control.

The promotions were described as unanimous choices by the asset managers' chairpersons.

Shares in Schroders, a 224-year old fund firm which built its business on transatlantic trade, have tumbled 21% in 2024 and were little changed on Tuesday. Abrdn's stock fell 0.3%, bringing year-to-date losses to 16%.

Schroders' former CEO Harrison announced his plan to retire in April after eight years in the top role, prompting the largest UK standalone fund manager, which manages 774 billion pounds of assets, to hunt for a successor.

Oldfield, 53, a seasoned finance veteran, joined Schroders last October as its finance chief from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he spent three decades in senior roles.

Underwhelming half-year earnings from Schroders in August underscored the challenge, after the company missed profit forecasts and flagged pressure on its margins.

The firm started out financing trade between America and Europe, railways, ports and power stations and today is focused on managing money for pension funds, wealthy families and rich entrepreneurs.

But even the richest of investors are now looking to pay less for investment services.

Senior equity analyst at CFRA Research Firdaus Ibrahim said Schroders' problems were significant, but a decline in interest rates offered some hope if they encouraged investors to look for higher-return products.

The new CEO should position Schroders "to take advantage when the tide finally turns" by prioritising cost-saving plans, improving its products and considering M&A, he told Reuters.

In the run-up to Tuesday's announcement, Schroders had been linked with a variety of external candidates by media reports, including former UBS chief Ralph Hamers.

BREAK-UP

Abrdn's Windsor took on the role of interim CEO in May, after predecessor Stephen Bird abruptly stepped down from a firm with 506 billion pounds of assets under management and administration.

Borne from a merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life in 2017, abrdn has come under particular strain in recent years, reporting more than 10 billion pounds of outflows over each of the last two years, although this year it beat performance forecasts and has been axing costs.

Since the merger was announced, abrdn shares have lost more than half their value.

Analysts have previously said that a change in leadership at abrdn could re-ignite calls for a break-up of the company, which spans traditional fund management through to retail investing platform interactive investor.

Windsor has a background in dealmaking himself, having spent 15 years at Morgan Stanley, although he told reporters in August that strategic repositioning of the group was not a high priority.

"(Windsor) has made a huge impression both internally and externally since he joined abrdn, particularly as someone whose actions evidence he cares deeply about our clients and customers and our people," abrdn Chairman Douglas Flint said in a statement.

Ian Jenkins will continue in the role of abrdn's interim group CFO and a search process for a permanent appointment to this role will now begin, the company said.

($1 = 0.7641 pounds)

(Additional reporting by Iain Withers, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes in London and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Amanda Cooper and Jan Harvey)