The Canadian asset management Market has generated a revenue of over USD 4.57 trillion in the current year and is anticipated to register a CAGR of more than 4% for the forecast period.
Certain active categories have generated strong asset growth, like large-cap equity funds, government-focused fixed-income funds, money market funds, and specialized products. Canadian investment managers have been investing in alternatives much before the counterpart countries hopped onto the bandwagon due to low-interest rates and volatile public markets. The fintech market in Canada is also growing at a fast pace, aiding the overall growth of the asset management industry.
Additionally, though the industry has shown its trademark resilience, homegrown leaders continue to feel the pressure of mounting competition, consumer shifts, and rippling impacts of the global pandemic. Big asset managers are looking at expanding into alternatives and low-cost beta products to the point where many players have gone down the route of partnering with a hedge fund or private equity managers on the alpha side and looking into ETF-style platforms on the beta site.
The industry’s relationship with technology has also brightened, even if familiar uncertainties linger. While organizations are becoming more confident and adept in adopting the likes of blockchain, bots, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), reservations persist as to how these resources will pay back their investments and how organizations can mitigate their potential risks. Moreover, considering that there is always a new competitor willing to look beyond these reservations, organizations are feeling the pressure to make a decision or fall behind.
Fixed-income markets were disrupted at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. As whole industries temporarily shut down, businesses and households ran down their savings or needed credit to survive income losses. As volatility increased, portfolio managers sold securities to manage their leveraged exposures or meet actual and anticipated margin calls and redemption requests. In financial markets, a substantial part of the demand for money comes from asset managers. Post-COVID-19, the Canadian ETF space reached another all-time high as economic opportunities and risks, along with product innovation, spur continued demand among investors.
The rising demand for RI among Canadian individual investors is being met with greater availability and diversity of retail RI products as longer-standing RI firms expand their product offerings and newer entrants to the space launch RI products. Assets in designated RI retail mutual funds have increased, representing a growth of 36% over the last two years. Meanwhile, assets in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed under RI strategies have more than doubled over the last two years in Canada. Responsible investment (RI) has taken its place as the predominant investment approach among Canadian investors. Assets in Canada being managed using at least one RI strategy increased subsequently over the years. Responsible investing comprises a majority of Canada’s professionally managed assets, accounting for more than 60% of all Canadian AUM.
Canada mutual funds and ETFs invest in a wide range of asset classes in Canada. Depending on their mandate, these funds may invest in equities, fixed income, commodities, and alternatives. However, equities and bonds are the most common asset classes. These funds cover a wide range of stocks across all sectors of the market, as well as market caps and share classes. They can be indexed or actively managed. Besides shorter fixed income, some ETFs invest in Treasury Inflation-protected Securities (TIPS), which can increase in value as inflation rises, or senior loan–based ETFs that protect investors from rising interest rates.
The Canadian asset management market is highly competitive, with the presence of major international players and multiple domestic players. The market studied presents opportunities for growth during the forecast period, which is expected to further drive the market competition. The major players operating in the market include RBC Group, TD Asset Management Inc., BlackRock Asset Management Canada Ltd, CIBC Asset Management Inc., and Fidelity Canada Institutional among others.
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