British fund manager Schroders restructures business, cuts jobs

LONDON (Reuters) - British asset manager Schroders <SDR.L> is restructuring its business to put more emphasis on growth areas such as private assets and wealth management, it said on Wednesday, in a move that will lead to job cuts.

Managers who make active investment decisions have been struggling to outperform markets in recent years, heaping pressure on them to lower their fees as more investors opt for cheaper, index-tracking funds.

Schroders said in a statement it was "realigning our resources...to continue investing where we see strategic growth opportunities," adding that it had also "undertaken a targeted restructuring of teams".

The restructuring would lead to around 200 job cuts globally, according to a source familiar with the matter.

British asset manager Merian Global Investors also said on Wednesday it was restructuring and making job cuts.

Bloomberg reported the Schroders news earlier on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop; Editing by Christina Fincher)