Fund managers see Amazon or Google disrupting industry

A survey of fund managers and administrators has found that over half believe a new game-changing disruptor such as Amazon or Google will enter the market in the next two years.

With the industry ripe with talk of disruptive technology, 54% of respondents who manage and service assets exceeding $27 trillion and $19 trillion respectively believe the space could succumb to the ‘Uber effect’.

The conclusion from Multifonds – who ran the survey – said that disruption could occur from the likes of Amazon, Google or Alibaba. The company also suggested a new fintech entrant or game-changing technology such as blockchain could come into play.

“If the industry doesn’t evolve, someone else could do it for them,” said Keith Hale, Multifonds’ executive vice president for client and business development.

“Many other industries have already been shaken by the entry of game-changing disruptors and the things they look for are inefficiencies and a high cost of production and distribution – these are all currently present in the asset management industry.”

The survey also unsurprisingly showed that respondents felt the biggest barriers to entry highlighted by respondents are regulation and current back office complexity rather than product and distribution capabilities.

Among their regulatory worries, MiFID II topped the list with 51% saying it caused the most concern, while 45% were concerned by UCITS V and 31% by AIFMD.

Nearly two thirds believe the greatest impact of industry regulation is increased costs to investors.