Nuveen’s acquisition of Schroders last month ‘came as a surprise’ to Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT) manager Nick Train, who holds the asset manager as his sixth largest position, representing 9.3% of the £846m portfolio.

The unexpected £9.9bn deal from US group Nuveen – which Train said was ‘not exactly a household name in the UK’ – was a welcome development, sending shares in Schroders rocketing 28.6% following the news.

Train said he intends to continue holdings the company as its ownership changes hands despite the ‘structural pressures impeding Schroders’ asset-gathering and depressing its profit margins have intensified’.

‘We are interested to see what, if anything, happens next. Probably nothing further will eventuate, because we expect the company and its advisers have already sounded out any other plausible buyers,’ he added.

‘Nonetheless, assets of the calibre of Schroders and Cazenove are not often in play. Meanwhile, the recent counter-bid for Janus Henderson shows that substantive asset managers may have more than one suitor.’

A similar bidding war is underway between Trian and General Catalyst and Victory Capital to buy fellow UK asset manager Janus Henderson, with the former currently the frontrunner with its $7.4bn all-cash offer.

The sharp re-rating of Schroders shares after its recent purchase made it Finsbury’s best performing stock that month, helping to boost the trust’s net asset value (NAV) by 3.1% and share price by 2.2% in February.

Unilever was another key contributor, rising 10.7% over the month after meeting expectations in its latest interims and revising up its earnings upwards over the next few years.

However, all of these gains were wiped out in the ensuing weeks, with Unilever shares down from their 5472p peak in February – it highest level since 2019.

Train was not disheartened by the tumble, noting that the consumer goods company’s brief spike was reflective of shifting market sentiment which it should benefit from.

‘Doubtless the rally in its shares had as much to do with investors seeking shelter from geopolitics and from AI disintermediation as with the actual results,’ he said. ‘Dove will not be disintermediated by ChatGPT. The diversification offered by Unilever as a kind of “anti-NASDAQ” play should not be lightly dismissed.’