The global money management industry saw its slowest growth in assets under management this past year than at any time since the financial crisis, said a report from Boston Consulting Group.
According to its latest annual Global Asset Management report, global AUM stayed relatively flat at the end of 2015 compared to a year earlier, up 1% to $71.4 trillion. Global AUM had been rising from the end of 2008 to the end of 2014 at an average annualized rate of 5%.
The report cited “continued tepid net flows and the generally negative and turbulent performance of global financial market, which failed to buoy the value of invested assets as in prior years,” as the primary reasons for the lack of growth.
Net flows also remained relatively flat, at 1.5% in 2015, compared to 1.7% in 2014 and 1.6% in 2013.
North American AUM dropped about 1% to $36.1 trillion at the end of 2015, while European AUM rose about 3% to $19.6 trillion, and the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan and Australia, rose 10% to $5.2 trillion.
Net new flows of 2.5% and 3%, respectively, contributed to the rise in AUM in Europe and Asia-Pacific. The strength in Europe was reflective of net flows of more than 5% in Germany, Spain and Italy, and recovery of net flows in France, Benelux and Eastern Europe. In Asia-Pacific, both China and India had net flows exceeding 10%.
BCG used its market database and also surveyed nearly 140 money management firms, representing $40 trillion in AUM.
