Commitment to multi-manager funds remains
8 July 2008

Written by Sophie Baker

Demand from European distributors for the distribution of multi-manager funds across Europe has remained high despite recent market volatility, according to a survey by Fidelity International.

The research, conducted for the second year running, also reveal expectations for growth remain strong. 64 per cent of distributors said they expect to be recommending the use of multi-managers to a growing number of clients in future, because most agree that they meet client needs and that growth will be fuelled by client demand and, to a lesser extent, adviser demand.

Among key findings is that 86 per cent of distributors across Europe are using multi-manager with their clients, compared to 87 per cent in 2007. In terms that the demand for multi-managers will grow, German (at 79 per cent) and Portuguese (at 85 per cent) distributors are the most confident of future growth.

Simon Ellis, managing director of Fidelity’s MultiManager business, commented: “We can now say multi-manager has come through the early adoption phase and has entered main stream practice. Its popularity remains undented, at a time when economic and investment conditions have become challenging to say the least.

“It is clear that distributors are becoming more sophisticated – and rightly so, given that clients want more access to multi-manager in general,” Ellis added.

The survey was conducted with over 550 decision makers in 12 European countries at retail banks, insurance companies, private client portfolio managers, IFAs, fund of funds managers and other distributors of multi-manager products.

The survey also found that third-party funds now account for 48 per cent of distributors’ multi-manager recommendations, compared to 38 per cent for in-house funds.