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European managers again increased their lead in the world's asset management industry in 2005. But as consultancy Watson Wyatt cautions, it is a cyclical and inherently unstable business industry undergoing dynamic change
Overall, 2005 proved to be another good year for the world's asset management companies. Figures published by consultancy Watson Wyatt show total assets under management (AuM) of the 500 largest managers surpassed the $50 trillion mark to end the year at $53.6 trillion. However, while this represented an increase of 9.8 percent over the 2004 year-end total, the rate of growth was down from 13 percent in 2004 and 22 percent in 2003.
"Most of the growth in total assets in 2005 was market driven with the larger firms being the main beneficiaries," commented Paul Trickett, European head of investment consulting at Watson Wyatt.
The top 20 fund managers increased their total AuM by 9.9 percent to $20 trillion, representing 37 percent of total assets, a market share that has remained...