Mike Evans has stood down as the chair of M&G to concentrate on his health.
Evans (pictured) took a temporary leave of absence from his duties in January due to a “stress-related illness”. But on 1 April he took the decision to relinquish his post.
“While I am making good progress on my recovery, I do not feel that I would be able to return to the business before the end of the year,” Evans explained in a statement.
“I have therefore decided, in the best interests of the company and to ensure good governance, that I step down as chair.”
Evans joined M&G in October 2018, a year before its demerger from insurer Prudential was complete. He has over 36 years’ experience in the savings and investment industry, having previously served as the chair of Hargreaves Lansdown for eight years until 2018.
M&G said it would immediately search for his replacement with Fiona Clutterbuck, who took over as interim chair during Evans’ absence, leading the process.
M&G saw profit shrink and outflows widen in its first year going it alone from Prudential. Adjusting operating profit fell to £788m in 2020, down from £1.2bn in 2019, while it was hit with £13.2bn in net outflows, including £12.1bn worth of redemptions from its retail funds business.
Despite this, chief executive John Foley was awarded a £1.5m bonus last year, bumping up his total pay packet to £3.8m, higher than the £3.3m awarded in 2019. His benefits also include a £250,000 allowance to spend on a car and driver for business purposes though the annual report noted he and the remuneration committee had agreed to “materially reduce” this from 2021 onwards.
Shares in the FTSE 100 fund group are up 3% following the news of Evans’ departure at 219.5p just below their IPO price of 220p in October 2019.
