U.S. asset managers are making huge in-roads into the European market, according to a report released Monday by the Boston Consulting Group titled “Building on Success: Global Asset Management 2011.” During a media briefing in New York Monday, BCG execs discussed the “winners take all” phenomenon that came out of the study, pointing out that in the U.S., the top 10 asset managers accounted for all of the positive net flows last year.
But if you compare the U.S. top 10 list with the European top 10 list from 2010, the names do not differ much, Philippe Morel, senior partner who focuses on asset management in Europe, pointed out. In fact, many American firms were on the European list, including Franklin Templeton, PIMCO and Fidelity:
While BCG presented a very positive picture of the global asset management industry overall, they also said, somewhat offhand, that many firms are in steady decline. AUM figures sometimes mask these declines because while AUM is increasing, these days it’s more because of market appreciation, not new net flows, hence the “winners take all” phenomenon. This fierce competition has pushed American firms to make in-roads in Europe, Morel said.
This can’t be easy for European asset managers, as many of them have fallen off the list over the last couple years, Morel said. They’ll have to get creative themselves to hold onto their piece of the pie.