Size of the global fund management industry
It would seem even globally the fund management industry is without their own growing challenges. Let’s have a look at what some of them are.
As sourced from the central themes of The Boston Consulting Group’s 15th annual study report of the global asset management industry. They’re the result of market-sizing research, an extensive worldwide benchmarking survey, and insights from client work and other industry activities, as reported in “BCG.com publications”.
For the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, the revenue pool of traditional managers fell worldwide, along with their profits. Margins contracted as fee pressures continued to increase.
Assets under Management (AuM) returned to growth, largely thanks to rising asset values on financial markets. Net new flows, the industry’s wellspring of growth, remains tepid and little changed from recent years.
In 2017, the environment remains challenging, with the specter of continued outflows from active products and even esoteric long-only asset classes. Meanwhile, the acceleration of new, disruptive technologies will create opportunities for some asset managers while posing threats to others.
With that in mind, the argument in the report is that tomorrow’s industry leaders will appear quite different from todays. To be among them, asset managers will need to seize opportunities to act boldly and transform the very way they work, through innovation that fully embraces advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and analytics. This will be especially true in investment management and distribution.
Understanding and pursuing opportunities embedded in big market moves will also define success whether through Mergers & Acquisitions, partnerships, or gaining entry to promising new markets, such as China. Finally, acting to address costs structurally will differentiate winning managers, whether they take advantage of automation technology or leverage third-party resources.
Those that succeed in making these changes will consolidate their position. Others will increasingly struggle with disruption and turbulence.