For another time are some of the stories I have seen in almost a quarter of century kicking around the professional investment management arena. However, any company in the sector knows it is double geared to the market cycle – after all most remuneration comes from clipping a management fee off a portfolio and naturally inflows are far, far easier to attract in when markets are hot… and at the moment the average stock market around the world is still down a double-digit percentage year-to-date...
I have been kicking around the fund and wealth management industry for more than a couple of decades now and have seen plenty of business launches, deals and consolidation. The big trend at the moment - and frankly of the last little while - has been consolidation. Call it driven by cost-cutting potential, distribution realities, Mifid-II influences or the impact of the rise of passive/robo investments on the level of fees that can be charged. Anyhow, what strikes me as insightful is the price these deals are being struck at…
