Schroders has agreed to sell its financial planning arm Benchmark Capital to Swedish wealth management firm Soderberg and Partners as part of a strategic shift toward high net-worth clients.
Under the terms of the deal, Schroders will become a long-term asset manager to Soderberg and Partners while exiting direct ownership of the financial planning business.
The two companies did not disclose the financial value of the transaction, though it marks a significant structural change for Schroders.
Soderberg and Partners entered the UK market in 2023 and has since acquired a number of minority stakes in advice firms, also launching its own in-house platform called Seccl.
The Swedish firm currently holds £108bn in assets under advice, making it one of the largest wealth managers in Europe.
Benchmark operates three advice networks, Best Practice IFA, Oculus Wealth Management and Evolution Wealth, and runs its own investment platform, Fusion Wealth.
Benchmark chief executive Ed Dymott wrote on LinkedIn: “I firmly believe this transaction provides Benchmark with the ownership structure and backing to support our next phase of growth.”
Dymott added: “Soderberg and Partners are committing to invest significantly in the UK, and are committed to bringing the best adviser solutions, the best technology and the best service to be the leading wealth business.”
He also offered reassurance to staff and clients, writing: “There is a focus on continuity, and whilst we will want to make future changes, there is little we will see change in the near term.”
The acquisition is expected to complete by the end of the year, subject to approval from the Financial Conduct Authority.
Fenchurch and White and Case acted as advisers to Soderberg and Partners, while Perella Weinberg Partners and Slaughter and May advised Schroders on the transaction.
Dymott noted that the sale would allow Schroders to turn its “focus on its core activities”, having already exited its joint advice venture with Lloyds at the end of last year and sold its stake in Schroders Personal Wealth.
The sale of Benchmark effectively completes Schroders’ exit from the UK advice market, though it has retained its wealth management presence through Cazenove Capital.
Chief executive Richard Oldfield has vowed to keep the business following Schroders’ £9.9bn takeover by US fund manager Nuveen, which was agreed in February and ended more than two centuries of independence.
The Nuveen deal is set to create one of the world’s largest active asset managers, combining significant scale across both the US and European markets.
The sale of Benchmark also reflects a broader trend of British and European asset managers attracting foreign buyers, with total deal value rocketing from $5.1bn in 2024 to $47.9bn in 2025.