This year, we observe a net decrease of 4 ManCos in comparison to last year. This corresponds with last year’s trend, mainly driven by the decrease of UCITS Licences, and is explained by market consolidation, pressure on cost and regulatory weight. Nevertheless, the Managed Companies industry remains very dynamic, with 11 new ManCos setup since 2022. The large majority of these new entrants are Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM).

The Assets Under Management (AUM) on regulated products have significantly decreased. In the context of the war between Ukraine and Russia, leading to an increase of interest rates, inflation and overall decrease of the stock market, we identified that 11 % of the decrease of these AuM relates to the evolution of the stock market and only 3% to net sales, demonstrating the strong resilience of the fund industry. At the same time, AIFs have shown a significant increase (+25% in total). This increase confirms the growing leadership of Luxembourg in the Real Assets business consistent with the the increase of the number of AIFM in Luxembourg.

Bertrand Jaboulay, Partner, Management Company Leader, PwC Luxembourg says: “The results of the 2023 Observatory for Management Companies confirm the adaptability and resilience of Management companies in a complex economic environment. The continuous growth of the Real Assets products attracting new alternative players confirms the growing leadership of Luxembourg in this sector.”

Pierre-Marie Bochereau, Director, Management Company Coordinator, PwC Luxembourg says: “We have observed that Management Companies are redesigning their operating models with either insourcing some activities or outsourcing some of them. The past two years have set the record straight: pressure on fees, scarcity of talent, and increased regulatory environment urge players to make choices. Outsourcing of non-core functions has been used for several years; but  we also started to observe Asset Managers or ManCos increasingly delegating the management of certain asset classes.”

You can download the 8th edition of our Management Companies Observatory Barometer here.