Demystifying the fund industry

The core mission of an asset manager is to invest people’s capital and savings into productive economic activity, allowing companies to grow by providing access to new sources of funding for their business. There are over 4,500 asset management companies operating in Europe, with around 115,000 employed directly in the industry.

Asset managers typically manage investment funds and discretionary mandates. Total assets under management have increased steadily over the years and in Q3 2021 amounted to 31 trillion (or 182% of European GDP) of which around 54.9% on behalf of investment funds and 45% in managing discretionary mandates.  Source: EFAMA

Funds are investment products created with the sole purpose of gathering investors’ capital, and investing that capital collectively through a portfolio of financial instruments such as stocks, bonds and other securities.

The directive on Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) is the main European framework covering collective investment schemes. This category of investment funds accounts for around 75% of all collective investments by small investors in Europe.

The alternative investment fund managers (AIFM) directive covers managers of alternative investment schemes designed for professional investors. AIFs are funds that are not regulated at EU level by the UCITS directive. They include hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds and a wide range of other types of institutional funds.

To sell funds, asset managers have to publish accurate data and documents to potential investors and regulators in every one of their target markets. The complexity of that process often comes at a cost in resources and missed opportunities.

The asset management industry faces unprecedented levels of regulatory change. New rules around transparency and reporting mean that data management is now a business critical issue and so there is a real opportunity for firms to put their data to work for them.

Launching funds into new jurisdictions can be a daunting task. Ensuring that your fund data and documents are published accurately and in the most efficient way, and across all the right destinations, is critical to competitiveness.

Over the past 30 years, Kneip has become a leader in fund data management and reporting solutions for the asset management industry. Our teams develop solutions to remove complexity throughout the fund lifecycle and help clients manage data and ensure compliance in a changing regulatory environment. With data at the core of our solutions, clients can accelerate the production and publication of fund documentation, easily adapt to new regulatory requirements, and gain insights to further expand their distribution footprint.