Has the industry missed the future already?

The investment management industry will need to be restructured to meet the demands of ageing demographics globally.

Ingo Walter, Professor at Stern School of Business and director of SimCorp StrategyLab, says demographic changes “will pose both challenges and opportunities to all sectors within investment management”.

“In the next 10-20 years, many parts of the investment management industry will have to be restructured in order to meet the demands posed by the growing retiring population. The companies best prepared to handle the challenges and, in particular, take advantage of the opportunities are likely to become the future winners,” he says.

“The pensions industry, for instance, will be required to provide very high returns as well as stable cashflows while simultaneously being able to manage risk better; and the fund industry will be met with a growing demand for products suited for investing people’s retirement savings.”

Speaking at the SimCorp StrategyLab in Copenhagen, Walter went on to say that demographic changes are key to the future of the global investment management industry.

As part of its 2011-12 research program, SimCorp StrategyLab gathered three executive research groups in Copenhagen. The research groups consisted of academics and high-level industry representatives, who convened to discuss challenges and recommendations for the fund industry, the asset management industry, and the pension and insurance industries.

The results of the meeting as well as recommendations for how to meet the challenges faced by the global investment management industry will be elaborated on and published in three sector-specific white papers in September.