Is big beautiful in the asset management industry?

The announced merger between Franklin Templeton Investments and Legg Mason follows a series of other takeovers. It shows that the global asset management industry is further in a consolidation mode, even as the overall assets under management increased massively over the last 10 years. The ongoing corporate activity regarding transactions is driven by the increased pressure on fees for active management, which is shrinking the revenues of asset managers. The trend started in the U.S., but has also reached Europe. One reason for the increased pressure on the revenues of asset managers is ...