Change At The Top Of Schroders As CEO To Stand Down; Reports Rise In Profits

Tom Burroughes

3 March 2016

The chief executive of for the past 15 years, Michael Dobson, is stepping down from his post at the UK-listed wealth and asset management firm in April. He will be succeeded by Peter Harrison, who has been head of equities since 2013. Schroders is also making a number of other top-level boardroom changes.

The departure of Dobson brings to an end one of the more long-standing CEO stints in London’s financial history and the period has seen Dobson help Schroders recover from the end of the dotcom boom, work through the pre-2008 crash era and subsequent aftermath.

Schroders announced the change at the top as it reported full-year results for 2015. Profit before tax and exceptional items increased by 8 per cent to £609.7 million (2014: £565.2 million) and profit before tax increased by 14 per cent to £589.0 million (2014: £517.1 million).

In other changes, Andrew Beeson, who has been chairman for the last four years and a member of the board since 2004, will retire from the board on 4 April 2016. Dobson becomes non-executive chairman from that date.

Massimo Tosato, executive vice chairman and global head of distribution, will retire as a director and leave the firm on 31 December 2016. He joined Schroders in Milan in 1995 before relocating to London in 1999. He was appointed to the board in 2001 and has held a number of senior positions within the firm.

Ashley Almanza, who joined the board in 2011 as a non-executive director and is chairman of the audit and risk committee, will not seek re-election. He plans to leave the board at the firm’s AGM on 28 April. His reason for going is due to his commitments as chief executive of G4S. Rhian Davies will become chairman of the audit and risk committee at the conclusion of the AGM.

Results
Assets under management ended the year at £313.5 billion (2014: £300.0 billion).

Wealth management net revenue was £207.2 million (2014: £213.5 million). Underlying revenues increased in 2015, as revenue in 2014 included £9.0 million from performance fees and the release of a loan loss provision. Profit before tax and exceptional items were £61.3 million (2014: £61.7 million). Profit before tax increased 46 per cent to £60.5 million (2014: £41.3 million).