Schroders’ assets under management has hit the £300bn mark, the firm announced in its 2014 results.
The annual statement, published on 5 March, showed a 14% AUM jump from £262.9bn to £300bn in the year to 31 December.
Schroders also saw its profits before tax and exceptional items rise by 11% in the same period to £565.2m, £499.3m of which was contributed by the firm’s asset management business.
Similarly, pre-tax profits increased from £447.5m to £517.1m, boosted by a 214% jump in net inflows to £24.8bn.
The group raised its full-year dividends to 78p per share, up 34% on the 2013 figure, while earnings per share were up 17% to 152.7p.
Investment from the UK was the strongest in regional terms for Schroders’ asset management arm, with £13.3bn in net inflows coming from domestic investors, followed by £6bn on the European continent and £5.3bn from Asia Pacific.
Net flows into multi-asset were the highest across the asset classes, hitting £16.9bn, while fixed income and equities gathered £4.7bn and £4.5bn respectively.
On the wealth management side, a full-year’s contribution from Cazenove Capital resulted in net revenue reaching £213.5m, up 42% on £150m in 2013, with performance fees rising 625% year-on-year to £2.9m.
“2014 was a record year for Schroders,” said Michael Dobson, Schroders chief executive.
“We believe our focus on building a diversified business across a broad range of investment strategies will continue to deliver value for clients and shareholders over the long term.”
Looking ahead, the group voiced its expectations for increased market instability over the next 10 months.
“In an extraordinarily low interest rate environment financial markets have been resilient despite numerous macro-economic uncertainties,” Schroders said. “This may continue for some time although we expect to see greater volatility in markets and therefore in investor demand in 2015.
“Our focus remains on the long term where we see a wide range of growth opportunities in the UK and internationally.”
