The Contrarian Investor: Industry at a crossroads

Industry at a crossroads

It is all change again in the mad cap world of asset management. One indicator of this increasing uncertainty about the next step is that tsunami of M&A activity.

In the past few weeks, we have had a number of fascinating deals, including Man Group’s deal with Numeric Holdings, TIAA-CREF’s $6.25bn acquisition of Nuveen, and the completion of Standard Life’s purchase of Ignis AM, first announced back in March. A recent report by analysts at Moody’s suggests this uptick in global M&A will almost certainly continue, powered by a number of factors, not least the improving macroeconomic picture. “Buyers’ goals vary,” says Moody’s, “but include: increasing AUM to gain scale and broader diversification; enhancing investment and distribution capabiliti...