Schroders posts surge in profits

British investment manager Schroders on Thursday said its net profits jumped almost a quarter last year thanks to major acquisitions, but cautioned that 2014 was likely to be more challenging. Profits after tax climbed 24.5 percent to £352.7 million ($589 million, 429 million euros) in 2013 from £283.2 million the previous year, Schroders said in a results statement.
Pretax profit jumped 24 percent to £447.5 million, while revenues swelled 26 percent to £1.81 billion. Assets under management grew to £262.9 billion, up from £212.0 billion a year earlier, aided by the completion of two major purchases. Last April, Schroders bought US fixed income manager STW Fixed Income Management, adding £7.1 billion of assets under management. And in July it acquired wealth manager Cazenove Capital Holdings Ltd, giving the group another £20.1 billion of assets under management.