Quizzing practitioners on sub-advisory future

Our third annual sub-advisory survey was initiated by e-mail questionnaire, sent to private and retail banks, insurance companies and fund houses.

The questionnaires were followed up by one-to-one telephone interviews, conducted by PWM researchers with each institution’s decision-makers, responsible for the selection of external managers. The panel of 57 institutions covered France, Italy, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It mainly included those major players already using Sub-advisers, who therefore have a greater understanding of the sub-advisory business.

The respondents manage more than ?3869bn in total, of which ?226bn, equivalent to six per cent, is managed by external managers on a sub-advisory basis.

Interviewees were asked to name Sub-advisers, asset class outsourced, and sub-advisory models used. They were asked to comment on the likely impact of recent pan-European regulations on the sub-advisory business, in particular looking at what type of products will be launched and outsourced. Finally, they were asked to estimate the size of sub-advisory market and provide their insights on market developments.