The investment industry has witnessed historically high levels of consolidation over the years, as increased regulatory pressure has forced companies to join forces to maximise efficiency. But in an industry where the benefits of diversification are discussed on a daily basis, are investors themselves subject to a shrinking pool of funds which genuinely deliver something different?
A number of high-profile fund managers left large firms to join boutiques in 2024, or even to launch their own companies. Reasons cited by the managers have included more autonomy over investment decisions, and being able to offer something truly differentiated from their competitors. But with AUM, regulatory and platform-related hurdles in place for DFMs and wealth managers, is it worth taking on additional risk to bolster alpha generation for their clients? We step away from the London noise to discuss the outlook for boutiques, how best to utilise their benefits without taking on too much risk, and what the industry needs to see from the regulator to make specialist fund house products more accessible.
Keynote
| | Dani HristovaChief executive, IIMI Dani became chief executive officer of IIMI in May 2023. She started her career in financial services in 2015 at Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) within the defined benefit pension scheme client team. She then moved on to Schroders IM where she was responsible for some of the firm’s largest pension scheme clients, including the in-house scheme, before moving into the insurance business development team. Most recently, she has worked for Nordea AM where she was responsible for building the firm’s presence in the UK insurance market. |
