In such a context, it is more important than ever for asset managers to consider what is on the horizon and shape their activities and communications to meet this increasingly complex needs of their end clients. The media is crucial in this context; it plays a vital role in not just shaping sentiment towards current events, but also in identifying those issues likely to be at the forefront of underlying clients’ minds and which therefore need to be a priority for asset management businesses from a marketing communications perspective.

It is this premise that forms the basis of JPES Partners’ fifth Asset Management Report – The Asset Management Agenda 2019 – where we have conducted comprehensive research across global English-speaking media titles (including national and international press, specialist trade publications and newswires) to identify those themes trending upwards in the media and therefore likely to drive agendas in 2019. In parallel, we have also sought the views of leading journalists to gain a clear sense of what topics they expect to be most prominent in the year ahead.

KEY FINDINGS

• Active quant strategies have become increasingly popular and have recorded strong inflows over the last year, but will face further scrutiny over their ability to deliver in different, and more challenging, market environments
• Demand for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) solutions continues apace, but asset managers will have to clearly demonstrate their ability to meet such criteria in the face of more sophisticated ways of measuring ESG impact and greater scrutiny from a more socially-conscious audience
• Technology is creating new opportunities and efficiencies for asset managers but could also leave the industry open to disruption as new entrants seek to gain market share
• Recent sell-offs have heightened concerns over growing market risk, with it becoming increasingly likely that asset managers will have to deal with new and more volatile paradigms as questions arise about when the longest running bull market in history will come to an end
• Populist sentiments and nationalism have made for a highly uncertain geopolitical environment, with asset managers have to plan at both investment and business levels for the fallout arising from events, most notably Brexit

The Asset Management Agenda 2019