UK – Alan Brown, who resigned in March as chief investment officer at State Street Global Advisors, is to replace Richard Horlick as head of investment at Schroders.

Horlick, who earned £3.65m (€5.3m) in 2004, will step down from the board on May 25 and leave the firm later this year to pursue “other opportunities”.

The news came as Schroders reported a rise in asset management revenues in the first quarter to £146.3m – from £116.0m a year ago. Profits at the arm rose to £41.4m from £25.8m.

Assets under management rose 3.1% to £108.9bn. Net inflows in retail were £1.6bn but there were net outflows of £0.5bn in the institutional business.

Brown will be a member of Schroders’ group management committee, reporting to chief executive Michael Dobson.

“We are delighted that Alan Brown is joining Schroders,” Dobson said. “He comes to us with a depth of experience in equities and fixed income and in the institutional marketplace in the UK and internationally.”

Horlick said: “Now is the time to step down and I am delighted to be handing over to Alan Brown for whom I have a great deal of respect.”

Total first quarter pre-tax profits rose to £50.4m from £33.6m a year ago. The company said: “Profitability was strong in the quarter due to higher management fee revenues and good private equity returns.”

It transferred £30.3m into the final salary section of the Schroders Retirement Benefit Scheme to eliminate a deficit under the FRS17 accounting standard.

It added: “We are investing in our fund management and distribution capabilities to develop further the position of the Group's products across a range of markets and asset classes.

“We also continue to examine a range of external investment opportunities to broaden and accelerate the strategic development of our business.”