Strong equity markets in 2013 resulted in the strongest median revenue growth among publicly traded money management firms worldwide since 2010, according to a report from Casey, Quirk & Associates.
Based on research from the money management consulting firm, for the 44 traditional and eight alternatives publicly traded money management firms worldwide, median revenue growth was 15% in 2013, compared to 5% the year before and 10% in 2011. Meanwhile, median operating profit margin for those firms was 31% last year, the second-highest achieved since 2009, just below the median 32% profit margin posted in 2011.
Alternatives asset managers outperformed traditional money management firms in both revenue growth and profit expansion in 2013. Alternatives firms enjoyed a median 35% revenue growth last year, compared with 14% for traditional firms. Alternatives managers also generated a 41% median operating profit margin last year, compared to 29% for the traditional firms.
“Alternatives firms are benefiting as institutional investors search for products and solutions that deliver less correlation and volatility and additional sources of income,” said Jeffrey Levi, a director at Casey Quirk, in a news release. “These firms are also achieving more consistent operating margins than in the past.”
North American firms outperformed European companies in 2013 in both revenue growth and operating profit margins. The 36 public managers in the U.S. and Canada generated a median 16% revenue growth and a median 31% operating profit margin, compared with 12% and 27%, respectively, for the 12 U.K. and continental European firms.
