F&C Asset Management has again reacted to activist investors Sherborne's questioning of the acquisitions of property investment manager REIT Asset Management and multi-manager business Thames River Capital.

The UK asset manager said Sherborne appeared to have misunderstood the economics and rationale for the acquisitions., which had both accelerated an improvement in fee margins and had been carried out at signifiant lower multiples than other acquisitions within its peer group.

It also posed a number of questions to address proposals put forward at an extraordinary general meeting next month, including the suitability of its nominated potential chairman and how it could improve on an already announced savings programme of £12 million.

The comments were made as F&C revealed that assets under management grew to £105.8 billion at the 31 December 2010, an £8 billion increase on the previous year's figure, with positive net business flows in the final quarter of the year after a prior four years of outflows.

Alain Grisay, chief executive of F&C (pictured), said 'destabilising the business' as it gained momentum was not in shareholders' interests.

He said , 'After years of outflows and the ownership uncertainty of 2007-2009, 2010 was a turning point for F&C with three year investment track records rebuilt, strong consultant support and a return to net inflows ex-insurance assets.

'The combination of positive headline flows from institutional clients, coupled with improving fee margins are tangible signs that our strategy is working.

'F&C REIT and Thames River are key catalysts for accelerating our diversification beyond our insurance contracts and they have improved our growth profile by delivering attractive new products, improved our distribution capabilities and strengthened the management team.'

Nick MacAndrew, chairman of F&C, who could be ousted if Sherborne's proposals are approved, said the group had made good progress.

He said, 'F&C has already announced detailed plans to enhance the flexibility of its cost base and to generate annual cost savings of £12 million.

'Sherborne has contributed nothing to any of this. Sherborne is simply looking to benefit from the hard work the current board and F&C staff have done to improve the group's performance and create value for all shareholders.'

He said, 'Sherborne needs to provide unequivocal answers to a number of serious questions well in advance of the General Meeting it has requisitioned.  Sherborne's announcement on 19 January only served to strengthen the Board's firm belief that Sherborne's proposals are not in the best interests of F&C's shareholders as a whole.'