STEPHEN CRANSTON: New life for Old Mutual
Performance fees provide a big chunk of revenue for the Wealth business, but there has been backlash against them from clients
It now looks as if Old Mutual has not been able to sell the remnants of its Skandia business. This operation will soon be dual-listed on the JSE and in London, provisionally as Old Mutual Wealth. But I suspect it will later change its name. Old Mutual didn’t cover itself in glory in its 18 years in London. Top management, under Mike Levett, could easily have opted to work from Hook in Hampshire, where it already owned a small asset manager. But instead their egos prevailed and they opted for high-profile digs in Berkeley Square, Mayfair, in Central London. I won’t catalogue all the company’s acquisitions after that. I supported some, but then I didn’t appreciate how capital hungry they would be. I am sure there is no such thing as a silver-tongued actuary, but Jim Sutcliffe in his time as Mutual boss came close. It makes no sense for Old Mutual Wealth UK to keep the Old Mutual brand once the SA operation regains its independence. I suppose going back to the Skandia brand is out of t...
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