Macquarie outpaces rivals with $583 billion AUM


Australian asset managers have seen an increase in market share globally over the past decade with Macquarie ranked as the country’s largest asset manager.
Research from the Thinking Ahead Institute found assets at the world’s 500 largest asset managers had exceeded US $100 trillion for the first time.
In Australia, global market share had risen from 0.92% in 2009 to 1.55% in 2019.
The five largest players in Australia were Macquarie Group, IFM Investors, Colonial First State, AMP Capital and NAB Asset Management.
However, Macquarie Group was significantly larger than its nearest rival with US$412 billion compared to $163 billion for IFM Investors. Overall, Macquarie was the 60th-largest asset manager in the world.
These five firms were the only ones to have more than $100 billion in assets under management followed by Pendal Group which had $70 billion.
Globally, BlackRock remained the world’s largest asset manager with $7.4 trillion in assets followed by passive manager Vanguard which had $6.1 trillion.
The research found passively managed assets grew from $4.9 trillion in 2015 to $7.9 trillion in 2019 thanks to the wider availability of products.
Roger Urwin, co-founder of the Thinking Ahead Institute, said: “The investment industry has always been dynamic, but the pace of change is speeding up, manifested notably through consolidation. In addition, rapidly advancing technology is changing the shape of mandates and producing products that require less governance and are more streamlined.
“This has led to the growth of passive and index tracking, factor-based strategies and solutions. Private markets have also continued a significant growth trend in the last decade, during which investors have sought higher returns involving higher risk.”
Recommended for you
BlackRock has taken a $25 million stake in Generation Development Group as the two firms announce a strategic alliance to design and distribute tailored retirement solutions.
The global asset manager is launching its second alternatives fund for Australian wealth clients, focusing on private equity investment opportunities.
Trading platform Selfwealth has officially delisted from the ASX, marking the final step of Svava’s acquisition plans as it implements a scheme of arrangement.
US alternative credit manager Apollo Global Management is viewing Australia as a “priority market”, as it launches a fund for Australian wholesale investors with Channel Capital.