Schroders shares have remained at their lofty levels, having skyrocketed by 28.8% since markets opened this morning, according to data from MarketWatch. Credit: iStock
The near £10bn deal struck between Nuveen and Schroders for the purchase of the historic UK asset manager is set to accelerate the growth of their combined private markets propositions.
As the deal was unveiled today (12 February), executives from both firms expressed support for the growth opportunities offered by the combination.
Schroders group CEO Richard Oldfield said: "The transaction will significantly accelerate our growth plans to create a leading public-to-private platform with enhanced geographic reach and a strengthened balance sheet."
US investment manager Nuveen agrees £9.9bn deal to buy Schroders
William Huffman, CEO of Nuveen, described the deal as an "exciting and transformational step for both our distinguished firms".
The Schroders turnaround
Schroders' assets under management rose to a record level at the end of 2025, jumping to £823.7bn, according to its results today. This marked an uptick from £778.7bn a year prior.
The improvement in performance comes following a transformation plan that Schroders revealed on an analyst call last summer. Oldfield revealed that the UK asset management giant would be looking at closing, or merging, 14.5% of its funds.
Oldfield had already expressed a desire to focus the firm on its private markets capabilities when he took over from Peter Harrison in 2024.
Analysts from Jefferies said today that the Nuveen takeover will mean the group "will have a strategic focus on expanding its presence across key private-markets asset classes".
As part of the combination, Nuveen's $316bn private markets platform will be combined with Schroders Capital's approximate $98bn platform to form a $414bn alternatives franchise.
"Strategically, the combination is pitched as a scale‑enhancing move that unites complementary strengths across public and private markets," said the Jefferies analysts.
Schroders and Apollo team up to offer hybrid public and private market strategies
The deal will also unite both firms' distribution and insurance capabilities, the analysts explained, as they issued a ‘Hold' rating for the stock.
Earlier this week, Schroders entered into a strategic partnership with US private assets giant Apollo to develop both private and public market investment solutions.
In the UK, this will include the co-creation of new investment products that blend public and private fixed income exposures from across Schroders, Schroders Capital and Apollo, seeking to enhance income solutions for UK wealth clients.
As part of the deal with Nuveen, Schroders will retain its historic London brand with the UK capital set to serve as the combined group's largest non-US headquarters, housing around 3,100 staff.
The firms also explained that, should the combined group look to IPO in the future, it would intend to list on the London Stock Exchange as one of the dual listing venues.
Despite this vote of confidence in the UK side of the business, Schroders has shed investment professionals over the past year.
In October 2025, Investment Week revealed that Schroders fund managers Vera German and Juan Torres were due to exit the firm amid a broader review of the firm's emerging markets value strategy.
Its former head of value equities, Nick Kirrage, left over the summer of 2025 for Brown Advisory. As a result, the firm hired a pair of analysts Graham Shircore and Steve Woolley and promoted Simon Adler to Kirrage's former role.
Schroders ‘too cheap'?
While the deal represents a premium, Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, noted that any unhappy shareholder will be largely powerless.
"Unfortunately for disgruntled shareholders, there is not a lot they can do in this situation," he explained.
Schroders' Simon Adler on finding marginal gains and the 'ripe' opportunity in value
The Schroders family owns around 45% of the business and has already indicated its support for the deal.
However, Johann Scholtz, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, warned that shareholders may still exercise their displeasure. With a recent improvement in performance at Schroders, "Nuveen's bid lands just as the company is regaining momentum", he said.
Scholtz continued: "That makes this offer look opportunistic. Despite board support, only 41% of shareholders have given irrevocable backing, suggesting significant room for holdouts to push for a higher price. With the fundamentals improving and shareholder alignment far from locked, this story is unlikely to end at the current terms."
Rae Maile, research analyst at Panmure Liberum, concurred, noting that Nuveen "will take the spoils" for what they deemed to be a price "too cheap".
Maile admitted that, in the past, "Schroders was a mess: it lacked direction; money had been wasted on fripperies; costs were inflating as fast as revenues; disclosure was appalling; the relationship between the company and its home listing had been lost".
However, in just over a year, the new management team has "cut costs, shed tangential businesses and re-established its links with its home equity market", he added.
Schroders' transformation plan will see 14.5% of funds merge or close
"To have achieved quite so much, quite so quickly is staggering, but still the market was not reflecting that in either estimates or rating. The bid comes at ‘a premium' but this was the premium play in the sector," Maile concluded.
Schroders shares have remained at their lofty levels, having skyrocketed by 28.8% since markets opened this morning, according to data from MarketWatch.
