Michael Dobson, the former chief executive of Schroders, has been approved as chairman of the UK asset manager despite encountering dissent from more than a quarter of independent shareholders when the contentious issue was put to a vote at its annual meeting.

Schroders said on the afternoon of April 28, following its AGM that investors holding 28.2 million shares voted against the re-election of Dobson - who handed on the CEO role earlier in the month to Peter Harrison - as a director of the company, while those holding another 3.7 million shares abstained. The holders of 161 million shares supported his role change.