Schroders' history began in 1804 when
Johann Heinrich Schröder (John Henry) became a partner in J.F. Schröder & Co, the London-based firm of his brother, Johann Friedrich (John Frederick), founded in 1800. In 1818 J. Henry Schröder & Co. was established in London. During the
American Civil War, Schroders "issued £3m bonds in 1863 for the
Confederacy". Key events in the development of the business include the establishment of J. Henry Schroder Banking Corporation ('Schrobanco') as a
commercial bank in New York in 1923. Further key events included the public offering of the shares in J. Henry Schroder & Co. Ltd on the
London Stock Exchange in 1959 and the acquisition of Helbert, Wagg & Co, a leading issuing house, in 1962. In 1986 the company disposed of Schrobanco, its commercial banking arm in New York and acquired 50% of
Wertheim & Co., a mid-tier New York based
investment bank, whose activities more closely mirrored those of the London business. Schroders played a leading role in the privatisations carried out by the UK Government in the 1980s and was to grow dramatically under
Winfried Bischoff. Schroders was worth £30 million when he took over as
CEO in 1984; in 2000 the company sold its investment banking division to
Citigroup for £1.3 billion. Citigroup's European investment banking arm traded as Schroder Salomon Smith Barney from 2000 to 2003. In April 2012, Schroders acquired a 25% stake in
Axis Mutual Fund. In 2013, Schroders purchased the capital management arm of
Cazenove in a deal worth £424 million. Schroders bought the London-based
Sandaire Investment Office in September 2020. Schroders announced in June 2021 that it was uniting its specialist private assets capabilities under the newly launched Schroders Capital brand. In December 2021, the firm signed up to the
UN's Women Empowerment Principles, an initiative to support women in the workplace which was founded by the
United Nations Global Compact and
UN Women. In 2023, Schroders announced that Chris Durack and Karine Szenberg were appointed co-heads to its client groups in an internal restructuring effort to drive growth across the Asia-Pacific area. In September 2024, Schroders named finance chief Richard Oldfield as the new CEO, succeeding Peter Harrison, effective 8 November 2024. In November 2024, Schroders announced that they were reducing the size of its executive committee to 9 members from 22. As part of the overhaul, Ed Houghton, who was most recently a director at Legal & General Group Plc, would join Schroders and its management committee as head of strategy and investor engagement. In February 2026, US asset manager
Nuveen agreed to acquire Schroders at a share price of 612p, valuing the company at £9.9 billion. ==Collaboration with universities==