Schroders appoints co-heads of UK intermediary to replace US-bound Middleton

Gold, who is currently head of intermediary business development in London, and Abbott, who is Schroders' country head in South Africa, will take over the reins of the UK intermediary business at the end of Q1 2020. The move represents a return to a co-head strategy for the business.

Middleton, who will become head of institutional distribution, North America, will spearhead Schroders' enhanced focus on what it called a "strategically important region".

Schroders' head of UK distribution and Latin America James Rainbow told PA's sister title Investment Week the pair had "done an excellent job" in helping to build the Schroders business, having both been with the company for more than a decade.

"The opportunity to use their experience and promote them is an excellent piece of news and testament to the quality we have within the business," said Rainbow.

He added that Schroders had used co-heads for the business before, of which Rainbow was one, and "in no way represents a change of direction for UK intermediary".

"It is still a hugely important business for us. It is our home market and it is really important that we give it the appropriate level of focus and resource," Rainbow continued.

"Our UK intermediary business is large and complex and we now have two people who bring quite different skills to it."

Gold joined Schroders in 2000, working within the UK retail sales team initially before moving within business development asset manager sales in 2006. She has been in her current role since 2016 and Rainbow said she was "well-known and well-respected" within the UK market.

Abbott, meanwhile, has been with the firm since 2008 initially with responsibility for relationships with discretionary asset managers in the UK.

In 2013 he moved to begin working with South African institutional and retail investors before re-locating there in December 2015. Rainbow said Abbott had "built a new business in South Africa, which has been successful".

For Middleton, Rainbow said it was "good news", having "done a great job for a long period of time" as head of UK intermediary.

"The US is a strategic priority for our firm and, with the appointment of Mark Brookman as CEO of the US business, we have been adding experience and resource to that business that reflect the focus and priority we have given it."

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• Sam Gold
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