Asset Managers

A mix of erratic political choices has chipped away at confidence in Washington. Yet, as the economic backdrop remains stubbornly solid, the case for US assets is alive and kicking, America’s largest investors say.

Asset managers and financial planners need to focus more explicitly on heirs in the run-up to the “Great Wealth Transfer” in order to limit asset outflows and safeguard their own future. They should, in fact, behave more like a family office.

BNP Paribas Asset Management expects its alternatives division to grow by 5 to 6 percent annually and to consolidate its leading position in Europe. The asset manager said it is barely affected by the negative sentiment surrounding private credit.

The shake-out in active asset management is far from finished, even as some firms regain momentum in the battle for investor flows, according to Joseph Pinto, chief executive of M&G Investments.

Candriam is lowering the ESG bar for two major funds. This is intended to make investments in “selected defense companies” possible.

Investments in private markets are still characterized by limited information and imperfect transparency, particularly when compared with public assets. Asset managers increasingly see economic value in addressing that gap, turning greater transparency into a business model in its own right.

Schroders has agreed to a 9.9 billion pound (11.4 billion euro) takeover by US-based Nuveen, ending 222 years of family ownership and marking a further shift in global asset management toward American dominance.

Amundi’s full-year results underscore how Europe’s largest asset manager has become a formidable ETF machine. Yet behind the record passive inflows, profits still rely heavily on traditional active management and a deliberate push into higher-margin activities.

Asset manager L&G is planning to set up hybrid “crossover” funds alongside its extensive passive business. These funds will contain both public and private investments. With this in mind, the British asset manager is working with specialists such as Blackstone.

The development that some large banks in Europe are closing their doors to open architecture and internalising asset management is good for their margins in the short term but could create a long-term problem. That is what UK CEO Maxime Carmignac of Carmignac said. “Asset management is a different profession, with a different culture and dynamics. We are already seeing that this is starting to work against some banks.”