Pearl pledge boosts Glasgow's asset management credentials

Pearl's offer of 720p per share for Resolution is expected to be approved by shareholders on

4 February 2008, after the dissolution of Standard Life's earlier bid for its Scottish rival.

The Standard Life proposal

had analysts predicting redundancies in Resolution's asset management arm, but Pearl's announcement has quashed such fears.

Unlike the competing bids from Standard Life and F&C Asset Management, which would have effectively seen a clash of asset management functions, there is little overlap between Pearl and Resolution. Pearl Group has said it will ensure the safety of the 400 jobs at Resolution Asset Management and integrate it with Pearl's Axial Asset Management.

With assets under management of 85bn, the move will both create one of the UK's largest investment companies and give a much-needed boost to Glasgow's fund management industry, which currently pales in comparison with the larger scene in Edinburgh.

Whether Glasgow will be able to attract asset management talent away from the Scottish capital longer term is open to question.

Joanna Black, partner at Scottish headhunters Black Appointments, says Edinburgh fund managers are usually none too keen on moving west: "Unless they were really unhappy in Edinburgh or it was a really fantastic role, fund managers won't move to Glasgow. You have to recruit people from London, and even they will usually make the commute from Edinburgh."

There's no significant salary differential in the top-end positions within the different Scottish cities, but fund manager pay varies depending on the quality of the individual. The scale is 80k to 150k, and performance-related bonuses often range from 50k to 100k.