Asset manager consolidation - it's all about AUM

Here is another interesting observation - this time from Goldman. Deals in the asset management space (larger asset managers buying smaller ones to build AUM, etc.) correlate to the equity market. Asset managers here include mutual fund firms, as well as private equity and hedge funds. This would mean the recent stock market rally is forecasting an increase in consolidation in the space. Watch the big asset managers try to gobble up the smaller survivors of the credit crisis. It’s not about performance as much these days – it’s about AUM building.