The Asset Management Sector

Abstract

After having outlined concept and methodology for the comparative institutional analysis, the purpose is now to bring in relevant information concerning the asset management sector as a whole as well as the distribution environment for mutual funds to private investors in Germany. As elaborated, the objective of this enquiry is to identify best possible ways regarding the choice and design of institutional arrangements for marketing mutual funds to private investors in order to come to a sustained improvement in the “cash inflow stream” In this regard, the intention is to shed light on the global characteristics of the contingencies conceptualized in the enquiry’s framework in order to set the stage for an adequate examination of the optimization problem across the three case studies. Therefore, the following introduction of the asset management sector will, first of all, turn to recent market developments in Germany to illustrate the general trends in overall distribution performance levels as well as the changes in the distribution environment. After establishing a common understanding of those relevant “market dynamics” in Germany, the enquiry will outline the key steps of the value chain for producing and marketing mutual funds to private investors. By bringing forward the typical organizational set-up along the different steps of the value chain, the aim is also to illuminate the general expressions of the side-constraints stemming from “opportunism” and “service firm specificity” facing asset management firms in their attempts to respond to the “market dynamics”.