Survey highlights

The first two quarters of 2020 presented the asset management industry with some of the most challenging investment conditions in 75 years. This survey draws insights from a cross-section of industry professionals, investors and advisers, asking how they will adapt their investment strategies to the current economic climate and where they identify opportunities and risks in these times of financial stress.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also forced the industry to re-examine its goals and its ways of working. It has forced financial services companies to move to remote working and to apply technology in new ways to deliver business continuity. The survey explores how the industry’s performance over this period meets with the aims and expectations of its investors and financial advisers. Among its main findings:

58% of respondents said they identify investment opportunities in high yield debt.
44% said they anticipate opportunities in investment grade corporate debt.
49% said that money market funds will experience net outflows in favour of higher-yielding assets.
61% said allocations to gold will rise as a safe haven and a source of diversification.
69% said the Covid-19 pandemic will reinforce the importance of ESG principles in guiding corporate behaviour.
63% said the asset management industry will increase technology investment in response to the pandemic.
61% said emerging market equity will offer most potential through actively managed fund products.
71% said passive investment (index funds, ETFs) will continue to grow, driven by their low cost.

Funds Europe has partnered with Calastone to deliver a survey of opportunities and risks confronting investors and financial advisers in the asset management industry.

The report highlights the findings of research conducted during June and July 2020.