F&C Asset Management saw the funds it looks after drop from £98.2 billion to £96.8 billion in the last three months, but all due to the withdrawal of low-margin “strategic partner” institutional business which it had expected.
Friends Life had already given notice that it was taking out £5.1 billion of fixed-interest funds and withdrew £2.9 billion of them in the third quarter with the rest set to go by the end of the year.
Executive chairman Edward Branson, who is also the largest shareholder, said: “We have now put in place a new management structure to implement the consumer strategy set out earlier this year. We currently anticipate initial revenues from our direct-to-consumer marketing approach will occur in the first half of 2013 and look forward to a growing presence in this area.”
