{"id":7160,"date":"2022-04-20T08:02:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T08:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iqeq.com\/?p=7160"},"modified":"2023-10-10T10:38:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T10:38:30","slug":"can-asset-owners-be-serviced-same-way-asset-managers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iqeq.com\/insights\/can-asset-owners-be-serviced-same-way-asset-managers\/","title":{"rendered":"Can asset owners be serviced the same way as asset managers?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Recent market volatility has led to increasing interest from asset owners in active portfolio monitoring. In this context, we explore how investor services providers should approach the needs of asset owners as distinct from those of asset managers.<\/p>\n

First, let us clarify the difference between \u2018asset owner\u2019 and \u2018asset manager\u2019, since boundaries can be blurred.\u00a0<\/strong>Often referred to as limited partners (LPs), asset owners are generally the institutions or people \u2013 pension plans, insurance companies, official institutions, banks, foundations, endowments, family offices and individual investors \u2013 who own the actual assets.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, \u2018asset manager\u2019 refers to the universe of financial professionals who manage money, securities and other forms of asset on behalf of an asset owner. Their goal is to grow the value of the assets under their management. There are many different forms and specialisms of asset manager, including mutual fund managers, investment advisors, alternative investment managers, financial advisors, wealth managers, stockbrokers and \u2013 in this digital day and age \u2013 robo-advisors as well.<\/p>\n

Increasingly active involvement of asset owners<\/h3>\n

As an investor services firm supporting both asset owners and managers, IQ-EQ has witnessed a clear trend towards asset owners becoming more directly involved and actively managing their private portfolios.<\/p>\n

Banking major BNY Mellon notes that\u00a0there could be four key drivers of this change<\/a>, not least of all being a need for increased transparency in the face of lofty ESG-related targets.<\/p>\n

The second proposed reason is cost, as managing the portfolio helps LPs avoid the management fee and performance or \u2018carry\u2019 fee structure typical of the alternatives arena.<\/p>\n

Changing regulation, too, is pushing asset owners towards taking on the mantle of manager, in order to achieve a tighter grasp over their portfolios as compliance obligations intensify.<\/p>\n

There are also some LPs that have owned alternative assets for many years and choose to rely on this experience to manage their own private equity funds directly, rather than outsourcing to an asset manager.<\/p>\n

That all being said, IQ-EQ has been delivering investor services to both asset managers and asset owners for many years. Based on our first-hand experience, we can state with confidence that servicing an asset manager is different from meeting the needs of an asset owner. As such, we have separate divisions within our firm to service these two distinct groups.<\/p>\n

What it takes to service an asset owner<\/h3>\n

Indeed, there are quite a few factors that set owners apart from managers \u2013 each necessitating an\u00a0elevated level of service delivery<\/a>:<\/p>\n