Global AUM to Exceed $100tn

Research from PwC predicts that global assets under management (AuM) will rise to around $101.7 trillion by 2020, from a 2012 total of $63.9 trillion. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 6 per cent.

The report, Asset Management 2020: A Brave New World, also finds that assets under management in South America, Asia, Africa and Middle East economies are set to grow faster than in the developed world in the years leading up to 2020, creating new pools of assets that can potentially be tapped by the asset management (AM) industry. However, the majority of assets will still be concentrated in the US and Europe.

PwC predicts that assets under management (AuM) in Europe will rise to $27.9 trillion by 2020, from a 2012 total of $19.7 trillion. This represents a CAGR of 4.4 per cent.

Global AuM growth will be driven by pension funds, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and sovereign wealth funds. At the client level, the global growth in assets will be driven by three key trends:

• The increase of mass affluent and high-net-worth-individuals in the South America, Asia, Africa and Middle East region.

• The expansion and emergence of new sovereign wealth funds (SWF) with diverse agendas and investment goals.

• The increasing defined contribution (DC) schemes partly, driven by government-incentivised or government-mandated shift to individual retirement plans.

In 2012, the AM industry managed 36.5 per cent of assets held by pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, mass affluent and high-net-worth-individuals. If the AM industry is successful in penetrating these clients assets further, PwC believes that the AM industry would be able to increase their share of managed assets by 10 per cent to a level of 46.5 per cent, which would in turn represent $130 trillion in Global AuM.

Rob Mellor, Asset Management 2020 leader at PwC, said: “Amid unprecedented economic turmoil and regulatory change, most asset managers have not had time to bring the future into focus. But the industry stands on the precipice of a number of fundamental shifts that will shape the future of the asset management industry.

“Strong branding and investor trust in 2020 will only be achieved by those firms that avoid making mistakes that attract the ire of investors, regulators and policymakers. Asset managers must deliver the clear message that they deliver a positive social impact to investors and policymakers. The efforts required to satisfy investors and policymakers cannot be left to others.

“The coming years will bring the industry higher volumes of assets than ever before which places more responsibility on firms to manage these assets to the best of their collective ability. Asset managers must clearly outline the value they bring to customers while being fully transparent over fees and costs.”