The intense competition for asset managers makes finding new distribution opportunities and quickly marketing tailored products essential to maintaining or increasing market share.
For this reason, distributors must constantly update their strategies to place the maximum number of products, industry sources told Funds Society.
According to the Cerulli Edge-U.S. Managed Accounts study, asset managers are eager to establish themselves in new markets and prioritize expanding product distribution and creating new investment vehicles.
The research shows that 71% of asset managers cite expanding product distribution to new segments and channels as their main priority in 2024. For example, distribution through RIAs was a late idea for most managers for decades, even when advisors in that channel were already using their products.
Now that several RIAs are reaching scale, many managers are incorporating them into their key account distribution strategy similarly to how they would with traditional intermediaries.
In parallel, asset managers are also focusing on creating new investment vehicles (54%) and increasing their ability to offer customized investment strategies (50%). When asked about their product initiatives in 2024, 79% of asset managers cited actively managed ETFs as their top priority. Additionally, asset managers express interest in both model-managed separate accounts (54%) and manager-managed accounts (46%).
From Excel Capital, Agustina de los Reyes, Sales Director for Argentina and Uruguay, told Funds Society that increasingly, the market demands greater efforts from distributors to adapt to the different needs of clients in terms of service and product offerings.
According to the sales director of the distributor for Amundi, Abrdn, and KKR managers for Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile, “agility and versatility are required when positioning the ideas we want to market.”
The Chilean-origin firm highlighted the offerings of its asset managers and revealed that they focus on “those strategies that stand out versus their main competitors and align with the prevailing market vision as a way to stay in the market.”
“Our success is completely correlated with the success of the client and the advisor, so we prioritize positioning those ideas that we firmly believe will yield the expected results in the portfolios,” they concluded.
From Atenea, distributor of AEGON for Uruguayan and Argentine clients, partners María José Fossemale and Valeria Gloodtdofsky emphasized that the fund distribution industry is in a highly competitive environment, with numerous firms competing in the region.
“In this market, only those companies that offer quality products that have proven to be resilient over time and are considered ‘core’ manage to establish a strong presence,” they explained.
One of the most important factors for increasing AUMs, according to Atenea, “is establishing a relationship of trust and closeness with investment advisors.” For this reason, the partners believe it is essential to understand the needs of FAs and provide them with the information they need accurately and promptly.
“Success in this business depends not only on having attractive products but also on the ability to build and maintain strong relationships with clients and advisors. Trust and closeness become key elements to differentiate in such a competitive and dynamic market,” they summarized.
