Supermodel: The great evolution in asset management

Insights from 200 global leaders on succeeding in today’s rapidly transforming industry

The asset management industry has been going through a super silent evolution. In recent years, product innovation has transformed the industry and how it operates. This has brought benefits and growth – but also costs and complexity.

This is the subject of our four-part research series, Supermodel: The great evolution in asset management

Based on interviews with 200 industry leaders, part one takes a strategic look at cause and effect in investment operations and identifies paths to future success. Amid our research, four key themes to reach that success became clear.

Over the coming months, we will be bringing these findings to you as four separate parts; presenting our findings and sharing our insights.

Part one: Under Pressure

Our first area of focus is margin pressure. The pressure faced by almost every asset manager is changing and intensifying. Operating models must change to remain competitive.

The research findings reveal a clear contrast: while costs are rising, fees are decreasing.

Almost two-thirds (65%) of our respondents anticipate a significant increase in margin pressure on their firms over the next two years.

This expectation rises to 72% among traditional managers, who expect their public markets and sustainable funds to face the greatest impact.

The investment industry has evolved significantly over the past two decades, introducing new asset classes and distribution models that add costs and complexity.

Approximately 47% of our expert respondents believe outsourcing functions such as risk, governance, oversight and compliance will play a major part in pushing back against margin pressure.

The commercial stresses pushing margins downwards are unlikely to diminish. All indications suggest that the strain on asset managers will continue to increase.

Things must change. The supermodel era is here.

Download part one here to learn more.

Speak to us: if you would like to understand the research more or how you compare to your peers, please get in touch contact@carnegroup.com

i Research of 200 asset management executives conducted by CoreData in Q3 2024.