SimCorp StrategyLab, an independent research institution sponsored by wealth tech firm SimCorp, has released a white paper entitled “Asset Management: Rebuilding Trust is the Main Challenge Facing Global Asset Managers.”

The publication follows the 2011 summit held by SimCorp StrategyLab in Copenhagen where a group of nine asset management industry gurus from around the globe discussed 12 specific issues relating to risk, cost and growth. The resulting white paper analyses these issues in the light of the global financial crisis. It has identified that one of the most essential elements needed in restoring investor trust is greater transparency.

“This white paper has been born out of a highly constructive summit,” says Stephen Brown, David S Loeb Professor of Finance at NYU Stern School of Business, who headed the asset management group at the summit and is the editor of the paper.

“It draws from the best minds in the industry. They acknowledged the relevant issues and identified practical solutions. Some solutions may be difficult to implement, but they are all workable and essential for future growth and success,” Professor Brown continued.

The paper says that during the financial crisis of the late 2000s, many asset managers failed to protect their investors against market decline and volatility; others sold products that they themselves did not fully comprehend. The result has been that their reputation has been severely tested and the need to rebuild confidence is the single most important challenge for the industry: “confidence has been shaken and regulators have been stirred,” it points out. Embracing the resulting groundswell of regulation in a positive way will help restore confidence in the long term.

In addition to Professor Stephen J Brown, other participants at the summit included Lester Gray, chief executive of Schroders, Asia; Michael Jarzabek, general manager of LBBW Asset Management; Lars Eigen Møller, executive vice president and head of asset management at Danske Capital; Dr Matthäus Den Otther, managing director of the Swiss Funds Association, Dushyant Shahrawat, senior research director at Tower Group and Marno Verbeek, professor of finance at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

To view the white paper in full, click on this link.