Schroders: London asset manager’s profits tumble 14 per cent after 2022 proves ‘stress test for strategy’
Asset manager Schroders said its profits had tumbled sharply last year as market volatility dragged down its assets and caused investors to pull cash from its funds.
The FTSE 100 firm said pre-tax profits fell 23 per cent to £586m down from £764m in 2021.
Assets under management dipped four per cent to £737.5bn after a turbulent 12 months that has hammered the holdings of London’s top money managers. Operating profits fell 14 per cent to £723m, down from £841m in 2021.
Schroders also said net outflows hit £7.6bn for the year as spooked investors pulled their cash from its funds.
Chief Peter Harrison said the year had provided a “stress test for its strategy” but he was “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,” he said. “They are all playing an increasingly important part in our growth and now represent 53 per cent of the Group’s AUM.”
Schroders’ wealth management segment posted a 10 per cent jump in revenues to reach £394.3m, up from £360m in 2021.
The company said it would now pay shareholders a final dividend of 15 pence per share.
The results underscore a turbulent year for London’s top investors who have weathered sharp falls in assets and an uptick in outflows.
The results come after Abrdn said it had been “one of the hardest investing years in living memory” this week as it posted a pre-tax loss of £615m, down from a profit of £1.1bn a year prior.