Schroders executives pocket option gains

Two executive directors of asset manager Schroders have taken up options and sold most of them for large profits. Chief executive Michael Dobson took up options over 1,802,033 non-voting shares, of which 906,285 were at nil cost and the rest at prices of 705p, 483p and 398p a share. The total cost of taking up the options was £4.3m. Dobson raised £10.14m from selling 1,061,902 non-voting shares and a further £62,315 from selling 6,095 voting shares at £10.22 each. Dobson made a £5.84m gain on the non-voting shares disposal and retained 734,036 shares.Vice chairman Massimo Tosato took up options over 171,098 non-voting shares and sold them all. These shares did not cost anything so the £1.63m raised in the disposal is pure profit. The share sales were at significant discounts to the market prices. The non-voting share discount was more than 5% while the voting shares discount was around 18%. Dobson retains a 1.22% stake in the non-voting shares and 0.51% of the voting shares. Tosato still has a 0.36% stake in the non-voting shares. Last week, UBS increased its target price for Schroders voting shares from 1410p a share to 1450p a share, while Morgan Stanley upgraded its target price from 1295p a share to 1395p a share. This followed an interim management statement that showed net inflows of £7bn in the third quarter of 2009. Funds under management increased from £113bn to £139bn in the three months to September 2009. However, third quarter pre-exceptional profits fell from £71.5m to £57.8m. The comparatives were relatively strong because market conditions deteriorated sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008. Top Director BuysLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) Director name: Sir Sir Win F W BischoffAmount purchased: 250,000 @ 89.69p Value: £224,225Record (REC) Director name: Mr Paul SheriffAmount purchased: 92,930 @ 81.00p Value: £75,273Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) Director name: Mr Jean MattersonAmount purchased: 27,878 @ 139.00p Value: £38,750National Express Group (NEX) Director name: Mr John F DevaneyAmount purchased: 10,000 @ 340.00p Value: £34,000Top Director SellsSchroders NV (SDRC) Director name: Mr Michael W R DobsonAmount sold: 1,061,902 @ 955.00p Value: £10,141,164Schroders NV (SDRC) Director name: Mr Massimo TosatoAmount sold: 171,098 @ 955.00p Value: £1,633,986Standard Chartered (STAN) Director name: Mr Peter A SandsAmount sold: 60,000 @ 1,676.40p Value: £1,005,840Standard Chartered (STAN) Director name: Mr Richard H MeddingsAmount sold: 50,000 @ 1,676.40p Value: £838,200Standard Chartered (STAN) Director name: Mr Gareth BullockAmount sold: 40,000 @ 1,676.40p Value: £670,560Schroders NV (SDRC) Director name: Mr Michael W R DobsonAmount sold: 6,095 @ 1,022.40p Value: £62,315