Once again this year asset managers have been scrambling for scale as the cult of big-is-beautiful continues to hold sway over the industry.
With this in mind, banks have been attempting mergers and acquisitions wherever and whenever possible. Speculation constantly surrounds those businesses seen as ripe for a takeover. Meanwhile those institutions still digesting their recent acquisitions have been making it clear that they now operate as one global brand.
To this end, even famous old names in fund management, such as Morgan Grenfell, have been expunged for the greater good of Deutsche Asset Management. Another big UK name, Mercury, has been absorbed into Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.
The thinking is that distributing product via a single brand across all markets is the logical way to present a universal investment approach. In some instances this is causing severe disruption as teams from diverse operations are lumped together. The Scottish Widows...
