Boutiques: Down but not out

For the fund management industry, 2013 has sometimes seemed like a case of another week, another acquisition.

As smaller players in a tough market seek alternative arrangements, the long-promised consolidation within the sector is showing clear signs of materialising. The trend has, unsurprisingly, flagged concerns over the sustainability of the boutique asset manager model. These fears seem justified, particularly given the increasing polarisation of fund flows to fewer, typically larger, funds and fund houses. A look at the IMA’s annual management survey from earlier this year underlines the problem: in 2011/12, the growth of the boutique end of its membership base lagged the wider indus...