Schroders Buys 49% Stake In Hedge Fund Group RWC Partners

22nd Jun 2010 13:57

By Margot Patrick Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Schroders PLC (SDR.LN) Tuesday said it was taking a 49% stake in London hedge-fund operator RWC Partners Ltd., in the latest effort by a traditional stock and bond fund manager to boost its exposure to higher-fee hedge funds. Schroders didn't say how much it paid for the stake in the company, which manages $2.2 billion. Similar transactions, such as F&C Asset Management PLC's (FCAM.LN) GBP33.6 million purchase of Thames River Capital, have cost roughly 5%-10% of assets under management, but those have involved taking full ownership. In a brief statement, Schroders said RWC will remain a separate legal entity and will continue to be managed by its existing management team. London-based RWC was set up in 2000, initially under the name MPC Investors Ltd. In May, it said two top-rated stock fund managers from Schroders, Nick Purves and Ian Lance, would join the company in August. RWC wasn't immediately available for comment. Schroders shares at 1235 GMT were down 9 pence, or 0.7%, at 1,312 pence, a smaller decline than most of its peers, as details of a spate of tax rises were announced by U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. -By Margot Patrick, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9451; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 22, 2010 08:57 ET (12:57 GMT)