Jupiter Asset Management chief executive Maarten Slendebroek plays down M&A rumours
Jupiter Asset Management chief executive Maarten Slendebroek last night played down rumours it could become involved in anticipated industry consolidation.
The recent Aberdeen Asset Management-Standard Life deal led to suggestions that there could be a flurry of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the fund management area.
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But speaking at Jupiter’s annual investment dinner last night, Slendebroek suggested his firm may not be well suited for such consolidation.
“We’re not looking to be acquired by anybody,” he said. “We have enough capital; we pay generous dividends. So for now we’re going to keep this show on the road.”
He said that in order for consolidation to work, cost-cutting is necessary and that Jupiter may not be suited for this because “we lead a very lean company with a very low cost-income ratio, so first of all there’s not a lot of costs to take out”.
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Slendebroek added: “The only point I want to make is that Jupiter is not a good example of that particular strategy. We think we do something differentiated. We think we can continue to do that for years to come.
“Our current size is £40bn. From that we can grow many, many years to come, using the strategy we currently have. Life does get different when that is £400bn or £500bn.
“That strategy might not work then. But we are where we are.”