Scale is not everything in asset management
Seeking size for its own sake can distract fund managers from focusing on clients and shareholders
Seeking size for its own sake can distract fund managers from focusing on clients and shareholders

But it relies on a host of rosy assumptions going in investors’ favour

Portfolio management should be based more on themes such as innovation

More frequent asset valuations can boost market resilience and investor confidence

Power flows less from size or wealth than from the ability to convert imbalance into leverage

What matters most is how capital was deployed and underwritten

Some investors reduce positions or buy protection for their portfolios amid concerns over valuations