Throughout the past four decades, the central plank of Jupiter Asset Management’s pitch to prospective clients has been the ability of the British group’s fund managers to pick investments that outperform markets.
But in recent years, the very premise of so-called active management has been severely tested by the rise of index tracking, a concept popularised by large US-based groups. It promises returns that almost match those of an index, but at a much lower cost than stock picking.
Investors have embraced the proposition. Across Europe, money has drained away from names such as Jupiter, Aberdeen and Schroders and into the likes of State Street, Vanguard and BlackRock. US groups now have $5.3tn under management across Europe, more than double the amount they managed a decade ago.