Pension funds are the most fickle of all European institutional investors when it comes to asset managers, according to a new study.
The study, compiled by the consulting firm FRC on behalf of US asset manager Invesco, says 61% of the sampled European pension funds had fired an external asset manager in the previous year. This compared with 32% of insurers and 39% for other institutional investors, including banks, foundations and companies.
Part of the pension funds’ fickleness was related to a heavy reliance on investment consultants. According to the study, 63% of the funds used a consultant, compared with 30% for insurers and 28% for the other investors.
Overall, the study found, 43% of the institutional investors had sacked an asset manager in the previous 12 months.