Schroders agrees to buy Swiss private equity firm Adveq

* Adveq manages $7 bln across private equity strategies

* Will become part of Schroders (Frankfurt: 929969 - news) ' 14 bln stg real assets unit

* Deal expected to close in second half of 2017 (Adds detail from statement, CEO quote, background, bullet points)

By Simon Jessop

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - British asset manager Schroders said on Thursday it had agreed to buy Swiss-based private equity firm Adveq Holding for an undisclosed sum.

Traditional asset managers are increasingly expanding into alternative investment markets such as private equity to meet growing demand from investors such as pension funds seeking diversification in order to generate the returns needed to meet their liabilities.

The deal for Adveq, which manages more than $7 billion, is expected to close in the second half of 2017, Schroders said in a statement. Schroders' private assets arm currently manages 14 billion pounds ($17.91 billion) in assets.

Schroders, Britain's largest listed standalone asset manager with around 400 billion pounds in assets, said there would be no changes to Adveq's investment team, process or strategies as a result of the deal.

"Adveq's impressive investment proposition, proven track record and strong position within key markets makes this partnership a complementary combination," said Schroders Chief Executive Peter Harrison in a statement.

Founded by Bruno Raschle in 1997, Adveq invests across a range of private equity strategies including venture capital, buyouts, co-investments and secondaries, and has exapnded from its Swiss-German home markets to Asia and the United States.

($1 = 0.7816 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Greg Mahlich)