European Fund-of-Funds Market to Surge: Cerulli

According to a report released Friday, September 10, by Cerulli Associates, European fund-of-funds market growth is expected to hit 80% over the next five years, expanding by nearly 250 billion euros. Citing product design, distribution, and regulation as factors that will bring outsourcing benefits into the European marketplace, the report also points out different predictions for different countries.

Paul Burgin, the primary author of the report, says, "Whilst the European picture looks good overall, there are distinct variations in the outlook for each country. The European Union product and distribution landscape is still fragmented as most FOF providers only distribute in home territory."

Also cited are the predilection of the French fund groups to include "too many of their own funds in supposedly open-architecture FOF portfoliosm," according to Shiv Taneja, managing director at Cerulli Associates. Italian funds may, in fact, die out altogether because of Italy's strict interpretation of the Markets in Financial Instrument Directive (MFID).