PwC Observatory for Management Companies 2021

ManCos have become one of the pivots of the Asset and Wealth sector. At PwC, we are very proud to follow the evolution of ManCos since the first edition of our ManCo Barometer in 2016. Of note is that this year’s survey came from a larger sample of 125 participants, thus providing a more representative picture of the Luxembourg ManCos industry, with 62% of the Luxembourg-based UCITS AuM and 55% of the Regulated AIFs AuM representative, a significant increase compared to our previous Surveys.

Luxembourg continues to play a pivotal role in international fund distribution. As of December 2020, it hosted 314 UCITS and AIFM licensed Management Companies (ManCos), welcoming 12 new entrants.

Luxembourg ManCos held AuM (in billion euros) of 4,158, an increase of 4% over 2019.

Bertrand Jaboulay, Audit Partner, PwC Luxembourg commented:

“What we observe is a story of continuous growth of the assets managed by Luxembourg Management companies. While there are new entities on the market, this is balanced with the M&A activities due to the consolidation of the segment mainly due to transactions but not only on the third party business. The Luxembourg ManCo market segmentation results show that the top ten ManCos managed almost 40% of  the total AuM.

Of interest is the increase in the number of employees in Luxembourg ManCos to 6,172 an addition of 224 people, which takes on even more significance in times of a pandemic. Of these, +222 were employed in AIFMs only licences showing a very specific increase in AIFMS. This is in line with a trend we observed a year ago, that Mancos need to attract more talent on the AIFM side.

Our survey has also confirmed that Management Companies identify as opportunities the continuous growth of demand on alternative products and ESG compliant products from their clients and investors of the funds. The existing margin pressure on cost, the need to always improve the quality of the services provided to their clients and the consequences of the pandemic pushed management companies to accelerate their digital transformation and to put on the top of their agenda technology and data management.”

Observatory for Management Companies Barometer

ManCos face numerous challenges. Indeed, 2020 is a good example as the COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges to people and organisations around the globe. ManCos’ key challenges during this period were firstly, the management of their Human Resources; and secondly, the management of their Client Relationships. As in many organisations, the pandemic forced them to accelerate their digital transformation and assess, on a real-time basis, their Business Continuity Plans.

In 2020, sustainability has gained more traction and is being increasingly recognised as a necessity, not a trend. This evolution will accelerate further in the future due to the regulatory developments in Europe, and increased investor’ demand towards ESG. ManCos have passed the stage of the 10 March 2021, marking the application of the ESG Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (SFDR).

Pierre-Marie Bochereau, Director, Asset & Wealth Management, PwC Luxembourg commented:

“Our purpose in presenting the Observatory for Management Companies Barometer is not just to provide an overview of figures and data, which is valuable in itself, but also to give perspective on the general trends over a given year. Two big trends for ManCos are digital transformation and the ESG revolution. Another insight is how the sector’s attractiveness has also been highlighted by recent Merger and Acquisitions in the past few months. We believe that this trend will continue to strengthen and consolidate the sector. It will almost certainly instigate the emergence of stronger players who can both afford real expertise, have the necessary resources to respond to a heavy regulatory environment, manage increasingly complex assets, and respond to clients demands and needs.”

The annual PwC ManCo Barometer poster also remains in very good demand. It includes snapshots, trends and ranking tables (ManCos, Licensed AIFMs, 3rd Party ManCos) and survey results.

The top 5 ManCos by AuM as of 31 December 2020 are:

1 = JPMorgan Asset Management (Europe) S.à r.l.

2 = DWS Investment S.A.

3 + UBS Fund Management (Luxembourg) S.A.

4 – Amundi Luxembourg S.A.

5 = Blackrock (Luxembourg) S.A.

The top 5 Luxembourg Authorised AIFMs by AuM as of 31 December 2020 are:

1 = Universal-Investment-Luxembourg S.A.

2 + EQT Fund Management S.à r.l.

3 – HAUCK & AUFHÄUSER FUND SERVICES S.A.

4 – M&G Luxembourg S.A.

5 = Carne Global Fund Managers (Luxembourg) S.A.

The top 5 Third Party ManCos by AuM as of 31 December 2020 are:

1 + Universal-Investment-Luxembourg S.A.

2 – FundRock Management Company S.A.

3 + HAUCK & AUFHÄUSER FUND SERVICES S.A.

4 – GAM (Luxembourg) S.A.

5 = Carne Global Fund Managers (Luxembourg) S.A.

The 2021 barometer is available on the PwC Luxembourg website.

Press release