Edward Bramson, who staged a management takeover of F&C Asset Management in 2011 with his activist investment company Sherborne Investors, is stepping down from his role as chairman of the asset manager with immediate effect, the firm said on Thursday.

The move follows a strong set of earnings for F&C and an announcement on Friday by Bramson's Sherborne Investors (Guernsey) A, the investment vehicle that owned a 19% stake in the business, that it would distribute its holdings to its shareholders.