Global money manager search activity increased in 2012 as institutional investors sought to diversify their portfolios, pursuing equity opportunities in international, American and emerging markets.
Mercer’s 2012 Global Manager Search Trends report finds that search activity increased in most regions, with the number of searches rising to 776 in 2012 from 742 in the previous year.
In Canada, search activity increased, with Canadian equity remaining the most popular category in terms of number of searches, followed by international equity and fund of hedge funds.
“The increase in Canadian equity searches was primarily driven by manager-specific events, causing investors to consider replacements,” says David Zanutto, the firm’s director of consulting for Canada.
“This masks the ongoing trend to global equity strategies as investors seek broader investment opportunities,” he explains. “The quest to diversify also led to interest in alternative classes, and we expect to see increasing activity in this area.”
Zanutto adds that an overall decline in fixed income searches is likely to continue as investors target equities and real asset alternatives in the face of expected interest rate increases and the potential for higher inflation.
The report is based on activity reported through Mercer’s global client database.