LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - UK fund managers Schroders ( SHNWF )

and abrdn named new CEOs on Tuesday, appointing

insiders to reboot performance at firms running nearly 1.3

trillion pounds ($1.7 trillion) in assets against a backdrop of

skittish investor sentiment and industry-wide pressure on fees.

Schroders ( SHNWF ) appointed current chief financial officer Richard

Oldfield to succeed Peter Harrison in November, while abrdn -

which had faced calls to break up amid shrinking demand for its

funds - separately announced interim boss and former CFO Jason

Windsor would become its permanent CEO.

Both take over at a testing time for the asset management

industry.

Mid-sized British firms like Schroders ( SHNWF ) and abrdn focused on

active funds have been particularly squeezed by competition from

cheaper index-tracking products sold by giants such as BlackRock ( BLK )

and State Street Global Advisors, as well as inflationary

pressures on costs.

Analysts say these structural forces are largely out of any

CEO's control.

The promotions were described as unanimous choices by the

asset managers' chairpersons.

Shares in Schroders ( SHNWF ), a 224-year old fund firm which built

its business on transatlantic trade, have tumbled 21% in 2024

and were little changed on Tuesday. Abrdn's ( SLFPF ) stock fell 0.3%,

bringing year-to-date losses to 16%.

Schroders' ( SHNWF ) former CEO Harrison announced his plan to retire

in April after eight years in the top role, prompting the

largest UK standalone fund manager, which manages 774 billion

pounds of assets, to hunt for a successor.

Oldfield, 53, a seasoned finance veteran, joined Schroders ( SHNWF )

last October as its finance chief from PricewaterhouseCoopers,

where he spent three decades in senior roles.

Underwhelming half-year earnings from Schroders ( SHNWF ) in August

underscored the challenge, after the company missed profit

forecasts and flagged pressure on its margins.

The firm started out financing trade between America and

Europe, railways, ports and power stations and today is focused

on managing money for pension funds, wealthy families and rich

entrepreneurs.

But even the richest of investors are now looking to pay

less for investment services.

Senior equity analyst at CFRA Research Firdaus Ibrahim said

Schroders' ( SHNWF ) problems were significant, but a decline in interest

rates offered some hope if they encouraged investors to look for

higher-return products.

The new CEO should position Schroders ( SHNWF ) "to take advantage

when the tide finally turns" by prioritising cost-saving plans,

improving its products and considering M&A, he told Reuters.

In the run-up to Tuesday's announcement, Schroders ( SHNWF ) had been

linked with a variety of external candidates by media reports,

including former UBS chief Ralph Hamers.

BREAK-UP

Abrdn's ( SLFPF ) Windsor took on the role of interim CEO in May,

after predecessor Stephen Bird abruptly stepped down from a firm

with 506 billion pounds of assets under management and

administration.

Borne from a merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and

Standard Life in 2017, abrdn has come under particular strain in

recent years, reporting more than 10 billion pounds of outflows

over each of the last two years, although this year it beat

performance forecasts and has been axing costs.

Since the merger was announced, abrdn shares have lost more

than half their value.

Analysts have previously said that a change in leadership at

abrdn could re-ignite calls for a break-up of the company, which

spans traditional fund management through to retail investing

platform interactive investor.

Windsor has a background in dealmaking himself, having spent

15 years at Morgan Stanley, although he told reporters in August

that strategic repositioning of the group was not a high

priority.

"(Windsor) has made a huge impression both internally and

externally since he joined abrdn, particularly as someone whose

actions evidence he cares deeply about our clients and customers

and our people," abrdn Chairman Douglas Flint said in a

statement.

Ian Jenkins will continue in the role of abrdn's interim

group CFO and a search process for a permanent appointment to

this role will now begin, the company said.

($1 = 0.7641 pounds)

(Additional reporting by Iain Withers, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes in

London and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema,

Amanda Cooper and Jan Harvey)