MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - Despite a poor economy and a mood of crisis, the assets of investors in Germany grew by ten percent to over four trillion dollars last year, according to a new study. Globally, the money invested with asset managers even increased to almost 119 trillion dollars, a rise of 12 percent. This is reported by the US management consultancy Boston Consulting Group in the latest edition of its annual asset management report "Global Asset Management". One of the main reasons for this was the rise in share prices. According to BCG, global investment assets shrank by nine percent in 2022, a year that was less than encouraging for investors, but this dip was more than offset in 2023.

The main basis for the calculations is BCG's own database on the international investment market. It covers both institutional investors - such as pension funds and insurance companies - and private investors. The majority of the money invested comes from institutional investors, for Germany BCG puts their share at 68 percent.

Contrary to expectations, however, the business was not profitable for asset managers, who invest the trillions on behalf of their wealthy clients: According to BCG, managers' income rose by just 0.2 percent in 2023, but costs rose much faster by over 4 percent. On balance, the industry's profits have therefore fallen. The authors of the study call this a "serious profitability problem".

According to the Vermogensbericht, the cause is falling commissions. According to the report, many investors prefer "passive" funds and other investments. These are linked to indices such as the Frankfurt Dax without an investment manager actively deciding which securities to buy and sell. As a result, "passive" investments also cost less in fees than actively managed funds.

One of the major players in international asset management is also a German Dax group: Allianz with its two subsidiaries Pimco in the USA and Allianz Global Investors (AGI) in Frankfurt, which together have invested over two trillion dollars. The majority of the leading international asset managers are US companies, led by Blackrock, for which the current CDU leader Friedrich Merz also worked for a time./cho/DP/zb