If, in asset management, 2018 turns out to have followed the same trajectory as 2017 did, it will have been another year in which the big got bigger. But could 2019 prove a turning point that gives smaller and mid-sized managers a lift?
A major reason why BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street dominate assets-under-management tables is, of course, their passive businesses. In 2017 – the most recent annual figures available for asset growth – the top 20 managers increased their share of AuM collectively by 1%, which took their asset share among the top 50 managers to 43%. This came substantially at the expense of much smaller managers.
We put together the Global Industry report to hear views from across the globe and one thing we heard at our London roundtable was that fund selectors are becoming more aware of over-exposure to particular funds or managers, including potentially some large ones.
Fund flow data often paints a winner-takes-all picture. Perhaps 2019 will see the start of a new trend – but it would be brave or stupid to suggest that next year’s assets-under-management tables will be materially different.
Nick Fitzpatrick, group editor, Funds Europe
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