Global assets under management grew to a record $68.7 trillion as of Dec. 31, up 13% from a year earlier, said a report from Boston Consulting Group.
Of that total, $42 trillion, or 61%, came from institutions.
The firm's 12th annual global asset management report showed that most asset growth was due to rising equity prices rather than new net inflows. But average net inflows still were 1.6% in 2013, the highest since before the global financial crisis. They're not near the peak level of 5.7% in 2006.
Money manager profits in absolute terms grew to $93 billion in 2013, up 17% from 2012. However, net revenues remained flat, at 29.4 basis points, roughly five basis points below their pre-crisis peak of 34.3 basis points in 2007.
“Asset management continues to rank among the most profitable industries,” said Gary Shub, a partner at BCG and a co-author of the report.
Broken down by region, North America had the highest AUM, with $34 trillion as of Dec. 31, up 16% from the year before. Europe came in second, with $19.3 trillion, up 7%. Japan and Australia managed $6.2 trillion in assets, up 18%. Asia ex-Japan and Australia held $4.4 trillion in AUM, a 14% rise. Latin America had $1.7 trillion, an 8% increase. Middle East and Africa managed $1.4 trillion, an 18% increase.
The remaining $1.7 trillion came from offshore assets that couldn't be allocated to any country or region.
The report also picked up on a shift away from actively managed core assets, which “continues to erode the share of traditional assets in the global AUM pool.” BCG said traditional assets have decreased to 45% of the total asset pool across the globe, from 56% in 2008. “Managers that cling exclusively to traditional assets will continue to be squeezed.”
The report, Global Asset Management 2014, covers 43 major markets, representing more than 98% of the global money management industry. The research focused exclusively on assets professionally managed for a fee. The report also drew on a 2014 study of more than 120 money managers, representing 53% of global AUM.
