Asset Management 2020: A Brave New World is a new publication by PwC that paints a picture of what the asset management industry may look like in 2020. The paper predicts a huge rise in global assets under management and a shift in the investor base, with South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East becoming increasingly significant. In addition, PwC focuses on increasing pressures that the asset management industry will face, including rising costs with corresponding lower profit margins and continuing regulatory pressures particularly in the U.S. and Europe. On the bright side of asset managers is the predication that increasing regulatory pressure on banks will open up more opportunities for asset managers.
The paper also identifies the following 6 “gamechangers that will redefine the industry:”
- Asset management moves to center stage, attributable in part to declining bank influence
- Regional and global platforms will dominate distribution
- Fee models transform
- Alternatives become more mainstream, passives are core, and ETFs proliferate
- New breed of global managers
- Asset management enters the 21st century, with new emphasis on technology.