European managers lose €400bn of assets
The top 20 European asset managers had more than €400bn ($603bn) wiped off their total funds under management in the first half of this year, according to data compiled by Financial News.
The companies managed €10.34 trillion at the beginning of the year, and the total fell to €9.94 trillion by the end of March. The estimated total at the end of June was €9.79 trillion.
The data includes insurance assets, but excludes wealth management divisions. Of these 20 managers, 15 have reported figures for the first six months of the year.
Three firms in Europe manage more than €1 trillion in assets. The amount managed by Allianz Group, Barclays Global Investors and Axa Group collectively fell by about €200bn over the first half of the year.
The European asset management industry has been affected primarily by market movements, as equities markets around the world fell over the first half of the year in the wake of the credit crunch and writedowns worth hundreds of billions of dollars by financial institutions. Investor withdrawals and the impact of currency movements have also taken their toll.
The news comes after a difficult period for asset management firms around the world. The top US investment companies also reported a drop in total assets, and research by analysts at investment bank Keefe, Bruyette and Woods issued last week showed that fund distributors in the US are pessimistic about the prospects this year.
If lacklustre mutual fund sales of less than $100bn (€66.5bn) in the first half continue at the same rate, 2008 would be the worst year for fund sales since 2003, according to the research. Last year saw record mutual fund sales of over $275bn.
--write to pcraig@efinancialnews.com
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