Business Models for Asset Management

Abstract

The asset management industry can be divided into two groups: money managers and institutional investors. Money managers create investment products for institutional investors to help them achieve their long-term funding needs. In today's increasingly competitive and efficient world, product creation is a critical element of sustainable growth for money managers. Asset management business models must continue to evolve to serve the needs of the institutional investor market. Yet, what was once considered skill and value added erodes over time through competition, and eventually becomes a commoditized form of risk premium capture. In this article, Anson examines a general framework for asset management business models. In addition, he identifies the key drivers of product innovation in the asset management industry and provides some examples of innovation.