Later this year, people across the UK will be asked to take part in the 2011 census, answering questions about various aspects of life in Britain.

First published:
Monday 28 February 2011

Publication:
What Investment

Journalist:
Rob Langston

Click here to download the survey

Unfortunately, there is no such obligation for investment houses to declare the finer points of their operations, which can make it very difficult for investors choosing new fund managers.

Therefore, investors will normally resort to looking at specific sector comparisons before making their decisions and listening to the case for investment in an individual asset class or region without looking at the whole universe of funds available.

Things are made easier still by the classification of funds into fund sectors, allowing comparison with funds with similar investment objectives.

Yet, by seeking out trends in the fund universe we can perhaps see what course the evolution of the asset management sector is likely to take.

The first ever What Investment asset management survey – using data provided by Financial Express – has looked at the whole universe of funds in the Investment Management Association’s universe, examining a number of trends over the past ten years up to the end of 2010.

The survey looked at funds with managers who had been managing the fund for one year or more – enough time to have had a significant impact on the fund’s performance – with a minimum investment of £25,000 or lower.

This, of course, has ruled out some funds that may have experienced a change in manager more recently, or funds that have launched during 2010, such as the much publicised launch of City veteran Terry Smith’s latest fund, Fundsmith, at the end of last year.

Recent launches would not have generated a sufficient track record by which to judge performance.

The survey has not concentrated on fund inflows or outflows, because while they can be a good indicator of fund popularity, they can be influenced by marketing campaigns, advertising or promotions.

Click here to download the survey