Asset managers optimistic but not complacent as Brexit process begins

Retaining existing customers a key element

Investment management firms, as well as the wider financial services sector, started 2017 in a much more optimistic frame of mind than during the dark days surrounding the Brexit referendum last year.

According to the latest CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey, sentiment among business leaders in the sector stabilised in the quarter to March, as the UK economy proved much more resilient than many had expected pre- and post- the Brexit vote. This was a significant bounce-back from December's survey, which suggested UK financial services sentiment slumped to its lowest level in nine years in Q4. Investment managers reported growth in business volumes accelerated in the three months to March from all four categories of customer, while average fees/commissions rose for the first time in ...