Asset management is a large and important global asset management industry with a total value of US$ 100 trillion for 2017. Asset management, as a business, includes aspects such as the search for professional investment managers, research (of individual assets and their classes), conducting trading. operations, marketing, internal audit and reporting to clients.

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The largest investment managers are companies with a complex structure corresponding to the size of the assets they manage. In addition to investors and asset managers, the management company also employs compliance officers, internal auditors, financial auditors, computer scientists and back office staff.

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Among the problems of running such a business are the following:

- revenue is directly related to market valuation;
- outstanding income is difficult to maintain at a constant level, and clients can withdraw large shares of the fund during periods of lower income;

- the company must bear the heavy costs associated with hiring successful asset managers.

 

The profitability of the fund depends most of all on the abilities of asset managers, but clients are more likely to believe in some unique investment idea and internal discipline of the company than in the abilities of several people involved in asset placement.

Many successful analysts, working in the field of asset management, accumulate enough funds to leave the company in the future and earn on managing their own assets.
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The most successful investment companies in the world are those that have been able to physically and psychologically separate themselves from banks and insurance companies. The best results and the most successful business strategies (in this area) usually belong to independent investment companies.

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