EUROPE - Asset managers in the European market saw the assets they manage surge last year to more than €30trn, according to IPE’s calculations, up from last year’s estimate of €26trn when the increase on the year was only €2trn.

The figures come in the latest Top 400 Asset Managers supplement with June’s edition of IPE Magazine.

The top 10 managers in terms of assets are: Barclays Global Investors, State Street Global Advisors, Allianz Global Investors, Vanguard Investments Europe, JP Morgan AM, Legg Mason Capital Management, Mellon Global Investments, Deutsche AM, Northern Trust Global Investments, UBS Global Asset Management and PIMCO Europe.

The 64-page supplement also features an alphabetical breakdown of managers as well as country rankings.

“The pressures on asset managers that have been highlighted in previous issues of this review have not lessened, although their nature has become clearer,” says IPE Deputy Editor George Coats, who oversaw the list.

“The requirements placed on pension funds from regulators and consequently their demands on asset managers have crystallised and this is clearly reflected in this year’s supplement.

“When we asked a sample of leading players where client appetite and demand are leading the industry, the words ‘liability-driven’, ‘high-alpha’, ‘risk’ and ‘diversification’ constantly appeared in their responses, which are gathered in soundbites section.”

“The jury is clearly still out as to whether interest rates will rise high enough to start to bite, while opinions are still out about just what the implications will be for investors.

“And this year has thrown new challenges into focus, including inroads into the sector by investment banks, which can offer novel solutions, and hedge funds, whose approach is seen by many traditional players as both a threat and, at least for some, an indication of what they should be offering their clients.

“In addition, recent mega-mergers have given new emphasis on whether they point the way ahead or are merely an eddy in a stream flowing towards a multi-boutique model.”

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