Publicly traded fund management firms globally delivered median revenue growth of 13% in 2014 and a median profit margin level of 33% — the highest in five years, analysis by money manager consultant Casey, Quirk & Associates shows.
The median revenue growth rate by the quoted managers globally in 2014 was exceeded only in 2013 and 2010 in the past five years. However, U.K.-based managers trailed their counterparts in the U.S., Canada and Australia in revenue expansion last year.
The U.K.-based firms produced a median 3% revenue growth in 2014, while 40% suffered declines in revenue, said Casey Quirk’s analysis.
By contrast, peers based in the U.S., Canada and Australia all had double-digit median revenue growth rates in 2014 and the percentage of listed firms with negative revenue growth was smaller.
“Many U.K. firms remain aligned with slower growth buyer segments and geographic regions,” said Jeffrey Levi, a partner at Casey Quirk, in a news release announcing the analysis. “They have not been sufficiently aggressive at building new active and innovative beta capabilities or repositioning against higher-growth markets creating headwinds in firm growth.”
Mr. Levi added: “That being said, we are seeing some U.K. firms making significant investments to take advantage of key opportunities.”
While 76% of all listed firms in the Casey Quirk analysis enjoyed net new flows last year, a group of 11 firms was the clear winner in gathering the most net new flows, a key contributor to revenue growth. Names of the 11 could not be learned by press time. The remaining 24% firms suffered net outflows in 2014.
Alternatives managers, for the fifth consecutive year, garnered more net new flows than their traditional counterparts, the analysis revealed.
The 62 quoted managers in the analysis represent approximately $14.3 trillion in assets under management. The universe is composed of 33 firms from the U.S., 10 in the U.K., eight in Canada, seven in Australia, three in continental Europe and one from Japan. The universe includes 12 investment managers focused on alternatives.
