Other principles from the Bernstein report are the importance of scale in helping firms to keep fees down and developing new areas such as ESG initiatives. It also touches upon how regulators are shaping the marketplace (presumably though papers such as the FCA’s Asset Management Market Study).
Finally, there’s the consideration of distribution, particularly in models such as the one favoured by St James’s Place, which offers funds through its intermediary partners.
Another factor I would add to the mix is rise of the so-called ‘disruptors’, particularly those businesses in the direct-to-consumer space, such as Nutmeg, and even new initiatives such the one unveiled this week by Coutts.
With none of the aforementioned deals having yet completed, it is clearly still too early to start making concrete conclusions as to who will be the winners and losers in the sector.
While the big names may have come and gone, fund managers have always stuck to their own principle of long-term investing. The question begs who still has time on their side?
