Assets Decline at the Largest Fund Managers

The results of the annual money management survey of the 500 largest asset managers were published in the May 30th issue of Pensions & Investments.  Last year, their assets under management dropped 2.8%.  Factors causing the money outflows were:

• Defined Benefit Plans - companies continuing the trend towards defined contribution plans
• Demographics - aging of the general population
• Decline of Oil Prices - caused petroleum based sovereign wealth funds to sell assets to make up national budget shortfalls
• Diversification - institutional investors are moving away from the largest asset managers; they are selecting smaller, niche managers to get uncorrelated returns
• Disappointing Stock Market Performance - the return of the Dow Jones Index was flat for the year
• Insourcing - sovereign wealth funds have started to manage their assets with internal investment teams or firms

The articles can be found here.