Schroders shares linger close to Nuveen bid after Benchmark sale leaves 1.7% gap

LONDON, July 6, 2026, 21:07 BST

• Schroders PLC LON:SDR ended flat at 587p. The FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) dropped 0.26%.
• Söderberg & Partners is buying Benchmark from the company. No price was given.
• The 15p final dividend has now gone ex and been paid. Current deal math on the Nuveen offer puts the takeout near 597p for new holders, assuming the 7p interim comes through. Spread stays around 1.7%.
• Nuveen’s takeover of Schroders got the all-clear from the European Commission on Monday, after a review under EU merger rules.

Schroders PLC LON:SDR finished Monday unchanged at 587p. The firm is selling its UK advice arm Benchmark to Sweden’s Söderberg & Partners. Shares barely moved on the news, which has more to do with the Nuveen bid hanging over the stock. Schroders is now trading more like a deal spread than a typical asset manager.

The key number isn’t the headline “up to 612p” bid. Nuveen’s agreed deal has Schroders holders getting 590p cash and up to 22p in dividends. Of that, 15p was the final payout, ex-div March 12, paid April 23, according to Hargreaves Lansdown. So really, it’s 590p cash plus a likely 7p interim, if that dividend gets declared before the deal completes. At 587p, that’s a 1.7% premium to Monday’s close. Investegate

This stands out since Monday saw two deal headlines and the stock didn’t react much. Schroders sold Benchmark, and Nuveen got greenlight from the European Commission to buy Schroders. Merger-arb investors are left watching closing terms, the dividend, and when cash hits.

Benchmark has about 1,000 advisers, partners with 200 advisory firms, and £31 billion in assets under influence, according to WealthBriefing. Söderberg advises on £108 billion and has over 5,500 staff across Europe, Schroders said in a statement provided to Wealth DFM.

Oliver Gregson, who leads wealth management at Schroders, called the deal an “important milestone” and described Benchmark as “a good business.” Phil Middleton, head of Schroders’ client group for the UK, Middle East and Africa, said the investment management setup means Schroders can “remain closely connected” to the advice-led platform. Wealth DFM

Söderberg’s CEO Gustaf Rentzhog told Funds Europe that “greater scale is important” in advice and tech. For Söderberg, Benchmark brings UK scale. Schroders hangs onto its asset-management route but ditches the lower-margin advice business. Funds Europe

Schroders reported first-quarter assets under management at £814.4 billion at the end of March. Net new business for the quarter came in negative £2.2 billion, excluding joint ventures and associates. CEO Richard Oldfield said client sentiment turned “risk-off” in March. Investegate

Schroders shares traded quietly after the close, with Hargreaves Lansdown showing a sell price of 587p and a buy price at 587.5p. Volume was 5.44 million. The London market was soft, with the FTSE 100 off 0.26%.

Investors Chronicle’s LSEG numbers list nine analysts calling a 590p median 12-month target for SDR, with estimates ranging from a 612p high to a 420p low. MarketScreener also tracks nine analysts, but their average target is 547.7p, with the stock last closing at 587p. The difference between those screens matters less than Nuveen’s live offer and its terms.

MarketScreener has forecasts for 2026 and 2027 that still show earnings rising, but the stock’s upside is limited by the takeover terms. According to TradingView, Schroders’ next earnings report is set for July 30.