The world’s top 500 investment managers saw their assets increase 14.5% year-on-year to a record US$119.5 trillion in 2020, according to new research from Willis Towers Watson.
But the UK insurance brokerage and advisory firm says the study found that growth of Asian managers slowed, and warned that in order to outperform global peers, they will need to create more diverse business models and incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into investments.
BlackRock Inc. retained its crown as the world’s largest asset manager with $8.67 trillion of assets under management. Vanguard Group remained in second place with $7.14 trillion.
In Asia, Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group were the top ranked managers with assets of $1.06 trillion and $852.89 billion, respectively.
The study found that the industry landscape has become more concentrated, with the share of assets managed by the world’s top 20 managers rising to 44% from 43% in 2019. Their total assets grew 17.2% to $52.6 trillion.
“However, the narrow business model becomes a drag for the growth of Asian managers,” Willis Towers Watson says in a statement on October 18.
According to Jayne Bok, the firm’s head of investment for Asia, Asian asset managers “experienced a slowdown in their growth last year compared to previous years where Japan and China led the charge amongst their global peers”.
“If asset managers in Asia want to continue the meteoric rise they’ve seen in the past, they will need to create a greater diversity and resilience in their business models as well as within their portfolio,” she says in the statement.
She adds that the inclusion of ESG practices “will be critical to the future resilience of their portfolios and will determine whether or not they will outperform their global peers in years to come”.
The study found that the 500 managers’ allocation to ESG mandates jumped 43.8% year-on-year to $1.33 trillion in 2020. It does not break down the figures by region.
APAC’s largest money managers
Ranked by total assets under management, in US$ million, as of December 31, 2020
| 2020 Asia Rank |
2020 Global Rank |
Fund | Market | Total Assets |
| 1 | 27 | Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings | Japan | $1,059,802 |
| 2 | 33 | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group | Japan | $852,892 |
| 3 | 36 | Nippon Life Insurance | Japan | $739,067 |
| 4 | 53 | Nomura Asset Mgmt. | Japan | $568,128 |
| 5 | 55 | Dai-ichi Life Holdings | Japan | $551,429 |
| 6 | 58 | Asset Management One | Japan | $526,064 |
| 7 | 64 | Macquarie Group | Australia | $424,057 |
| 8 | 68 | Shinkin Central Bank | Japan | $380,492 |
| 9 | 70 | Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance | Japan | $374,949 |
| 10 | 74 | Sumitomo Life Insurance | Japan | $330,280 |
| 11 | 77 | E Fund Mgmt. | China | $320,046 |
| 12 | 84 | Agricultural Bank of China | China | $259,844 |
| 13 | 87 | Samsung Group | South Korea | $254,912 |
| 14 | 94 | China Asset Mgmt. | China | $243,973 |
| 15 | 96 | Bosera Asset Mgmt. | China | $237,200 |
| 16 | 98 | Harvest Fund Mgmt. | China | $230,453 |
| 17 | 102 | China Southern Asset Mgmt. | China | $218,400 |
| 18 | 103 | CITIC Securities | China | $218,143 |
| 19 | 105 | ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Mgmt. | China | $216,026 |
| 20 | 108 | Resona Holdings | Japan | $211,024 |
Sources: Thinking Ahead Institute
