Sales boom as boutiques become mainstream

The recent Unique Boutiques conference proves interest is growing in boutique investment firms

The word 'boutique' usually conjures up images of a small, luxurious shop specialising in a select range of expensive, exclusively branded goods, which are sold to wealthy, beautiful people. The reality of a boutique investment firm is slightly different - they do tend to be smaller than traditional fund houses and they also tend to specialise in certain asset classes or sectors. They can sometimes be considered expensive as many charge performance fees over and above the usual initial fee and annual management charge. But while they perhaps used to be the domain of a select group of inv...