22/02/2026
Schroders Deal Signals Major Global Fund Move
This week’s key terms/concepts:
• Asset Manager: A financial professional or firm that manages assets and monitors portfolios for clients or corporations, typically consisting of stocks, cash, funds and real estate.
• FTSE 100: The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, one of the UK’s most notable stock market indices, representing 100 of the largest UK companies by market value.
• London Stock Exchange (LSE): The primary stock exchange in the UK and the largest European stock market by total market value, established as one of the world’s oldest and most significant stock exchanges globally.
British asset management company Schroders agreed to a £9.9bn takeover last week, with US company Nuveen buying the firm. Schroders had previously been under family ownership for over 200 years, marking a significant shift in the firm’s history, but will continue to retain its branding and London office with roughly 3,100 workers.
Why is this important?
The deal creates one of the largest fund managers in the world, with the group now holding approximately £1.8tn of assets, a change of fortune from Schroders’ decision last year to cost-cut £150m in light of increasing pressure from US rivals BlackRock and Vanguard to boost performance against cheaper investments.
The resulting decision to delist from the FTSE 100 is also indicative of a larger trend towards the London Stock Exchange: delivery company Just Eat and travel company Tui have also delisted in the past 20 months in favour of US and Europe markets. This follows Schroders chief executive Richard Oldfield downplaying concerns about the competitiveness of London and the Stock Exchange two months ago, despite the takeover now representing its own shift towards the US.
How does this affect law firms?
The significance of the deal has also been reflected through the two Magic Circle firms that advised and acted for the respective parties. Slaughter and May’s team, led by James Cook, Richard Hilton, Hemita Sumanasuriya and Roland Turnill, advised Schroders on its takeover. Meanwhile, Clifford Chance acted on behalf of asset manager Nuveen, with Nicholas Rees, David Pudge, and James Bole leading its corporate team.
The takeover now awaits shareholder approval, which is expected to be approved by the end of 2026.
Lex Weekly 