The Schroder family survived Napoleon, two World Wars, the fall of merchant banking, and the rise of passive investing. On February 12, 2026, they said "cash me out" — agreeing to sell their 222-year-old firm to Nuveen (TIAA) for £9.9 billion.

The Financial Times called it "the defining deal of a glass half-empty UK." Philip Augar, who worked at Schroders in the 1990s and wrote The Death of Gentlemanly Capitalism, says history is repeating itself — just as the City's merchant banks fell to Wall Street in the 1990s, active fund management at scale is becoming a US-dominated industry. John Gapper calls it the end of the City's émigré alchemy — the era when German-born banking families drove London's financial growth.

In this Quick Dive, Aman Narain and Manu George — both former Schroders insiders — perform an autopsy on one of the last great family-controlled financial dynasties. They trace the firm through four CEOs (Bischoff, Dobson, Harrison, Oldfield), examine why the wealth management and alternatives pivots fell short, and ask the question the entire industry is avoiding:

Is this the end of the mid-sized active asset manager?

KEY TOPICS:

• The Schroders-Nuveen deal: £9.9bn, 34% premium, Q4 2026 close
• 222 years of family control: from Napoleonic-era merchant banking to algorithmic allocation
• Four CEO eras: The Transformer, The Architect, The Great Hope, The Accountant
• Bruno Schroder's Christmas party and the painting that said everything
• London's "Wimbledon effect": hosting the game but no longer owning the players
• The Death of Gentlemanly Capitalism, Part II: from merchant banks to asset managers
• The passive revolution: how BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street reshaped the landscape
• Why no auction? Oldfield didn't shop the company and Evelyn Partners got 50% more on EV/EBITDA
• Why Schroders' wealth and alternatives pivots were too late
• The last family-controlled financial dynasties: Rothschild, Lazard, Lombard Odier, Pictet
• Nuveen and TIAA: the quiet $2.5 trillion empire
• The triple threat: index-tracking, private markets, and AI
• The "Telco Trap" for active managers
• What happens to talent, culture, and clients in the next 18 months

DEAL FACTS:

• Deal value: £9.9bn (~$12.8bn) — valued at 16x forecast earnings vs 12.3x for European peers
• Cash offer: 590p/share + up to 22p permitted dividends
• Premium: 34% to last close; 61% to 12-month VWAP
• Analyst consensus target pre-deal: just £4.50/share
• Schroder family payout: ~£4.06bn (41% stake)
• Combined AUM: ~$2.5 trillion
• Expected close: Q4 2026

THE FT'S VERDICT:

• Lex: "Ending its listed life with a whimper rather than a bang."
• Philip Augar: "Wrenching but inevitable... just another brick in the wall."
• John Gapper: "The end of the City's émigré alchemy."

GUEST: Manu George — 25-year asset management veteran, former Senior Investment Director at Schroders (2007–2020), currently Credit Strategist at Polen Capital.

HOST: Aman Narain — Founder, A2Z Advisors | Co-Host, A2Z Fintech Podcast | 25+ years across Google, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Schroders, BankBazaar.

CONNECT:
🔗 A2Z Fintech on YouTube: https://www.a2zfintech.com/
🔗 A Man Who Blogs (Substack): https://amanwhoblogs.substack.com/
🔗 Aman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amannarain/
🔗 Manu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manu-george-invmgmt/

#Schroders #Nuveen #TIAA #AssetManagement #ActiveManagement #PassiveInvesting #FintechPodcast #WealthManagement #MergersAndAcquisitions #PrivateMarkets #CityOfLondon #FinancialDynasty #WimbledonEffect #DeathOfGentlemanlyCapitalism #A2ZFintech #LondonFinance #AIinFinance

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Ever wondered if banks are just giant dodos stuck in legacy land, or could they actually get hip and healthy? Well, Alastair Campbell is here to dish out the secrets of making money healthy again, minus the boring behind-the-scenes. Buckle up, it’s a juicy ride through data, archetypes, and the ultimate goal: banks that actually get you.

In this episode:

• Why 63% of industry value growth is flowing outside incumbents
• Rethinking archetypes: digital natives, modern families, and the kid pocket money revolution
• The three core levers of banking transformation: Customers, Architecture, and Leadership
• How to build a bank for the modern, complex, multi-hyphenated lives of today’s consumers
• The importance of 'stealing with pride' — reusable tech and collaborative ethos
• Why 'boring' banks are losing and what's needed to become trusted custodians of your financial life
• Leadership lessons: owning your architecture, generating customer relevance, and setting the ‘more for less’ standard

Timestamps:

00:00 - Welcome to the revolution: making money healthy again
02:37 - The data behind outside growth: non-incumbents stealing the show
04:05 - Why the balance sheet isn’t the hero anymore
06:18 - Digital wallets and multi-banking: the new normal
10:20 - The three wheels of banking transformation
12:17 - Leadership’s role in fixing the broken banking model
16:01 - Archetypes derailed: from nuclear families to digital natives
20:10 - How banks can innovate for weak signals, not just the average customer
24:00 - Money = emotions: making banking less boring, more human
28:39 - The future of customer data: credentials, relationships, and habits
32:39 - Building a modular tech stack for true customer-centricity
34:40 - The moat of convenience vs the moat of inconvenience
36:47 - Regulator’s role: pushing, pulling, and shaping the future of finance
44:23 - From wire protocols to open banking: standards that unleash innovation
46:23 - Why leadership tenure matters in successful transformation
54:22 - Empathy at the core: how young professionals can think differently
55:02 - Leading with purpose: ownership, career paths, and authentic leadership

Resources & Links:

• Healthy Money: How Modern Banks Can Create Value and Trust
• Thought Machine - Modern core banking software
• Revolut - Digital banking pioneer for the next generation
• Standard Chartered - Former employer for both host and guest
• Singtel - Singapore's leading Telco where Alastair led Strategy
• NatWest - Leading UK Bank where Alastair was Head of Strategy
• Alastair Campbell
• Richard Kibble

Connect with Alastair:

• LinkedIn

Want to overhaul your bank into a modern money machine? This convo is packed with the nuts and bolts of making that happen fast, smart, and with a lot less snooze factor. Buckle up, bankers — it’s time to get healthy!

### Links & Resources
📺 Watch this episode on YouTube

📄 Read the full transcript

### Credits & Guests
Creators & Guests

• Aman Narain - Host
• Alastair Campbell - Guest

### Chapters

The US banking fortress just got a new neighbor. NuBank—the Latin American titan with 127M+ customers—has officially announced its US National Bank License.

In this minisode, Aman and Zubin break down why this isn't just another fintech launch. We explore the "Wayne-dependent" reality of US regional banks stuck on 1980s COBOL code and why NuBank’s $1 cost-to-serve makes them a lethal competitor to the "Hollow Middle" of American finance.

Highlights include:

• The COBOL Crisis: Why US regional banks are being held hostage by 40-year-old software.
• Hard Mode Mastery: How NuBank conquered Brazil and why that makes the US market look like "Easy Mode."
• Focus vs. Breadth: Why NuBank is succeeding where Revolut is still fighting for regulatory ground.
• The Death of the Legacy Tax: What a cloud-native "siege engine" means for your wallet.

Chapters:
00:00 The Hook: COBOL vs. The Purple Glow
01:30 The Backstory: Fighting "Hard Mode" in Brazil
04:30 The US Map: Mega-Banks vs. Hollow Regionals
07:00 Secret Sauce: Why NuBank is different from Revolut
09:30 Aman’s Mic Drop: The End of the Legacy Tax
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