The global association of investment professionals' new study gathered the views of more than 1,000 investment management professionals on prospective industry trends.

Twice as many investment professionals think technology offers growth opportunities than see it as a threat, new data shows, signalling support for further digitisation of an industry many consider stuck in the past. 

Some 49 per cent of investment management professionals expect technologies to present new opportunities, whereas 23 per cent see the burgeoning sector as a threat, according to new figures from CFA Institute. 

The global association of investment professionals' new study, The Future State of the Investment Profession, gathered the views of more than 1,000 investment management professionals on prospective industry trends.

In addition to giving a nod to digitisation, the data shows that environmental, social and governance factors will increasingly play an important role in influencing investment decisions, with 73 per cent of respondents claiming ESG factors “will become more influential”.

Some 70 per cent expect to see more assets being poured into passive investment vehicles, such as exchange-traded funds. This is not unprecedented, however, as assets invested in ETFs continue to soar as investors' appetite for low fees outweighs their desire to invest in actively-managed vehicles with the larger management fees attached to them. 

Meanwhile, 84 per cent of respondents think the industry will see consolidation in the near future, as businesses' belts are pulled tighter by economic pressures and geopolitical turbulence. 

Nearly three-quarters, or 70 per cent, of those surveyed think financial centres based in the Asia-Pacific region will become “more influential”. Efforts by various APAC regulators, such as Singapore's and Hong Kong's central banks, could support this notion, as they continue to strengthen ties with counterparts worldwide in a bid to set their markets at the forefront of financial technology. 

More than half, or 63 per cent, expect profit margins at asset management firms to remain flat or to slip, and 57 per cent think institutional investors will look to reduce costs by in-sourcing more investment management activities. 

“Our industry is at an inflection point, where success or failure hangs in the balance,” said Paul Smith, president and chief executive of CFA Institute. “Industry leaders will make decisions over the next five years that will have an impact not just on their firms, but also on the entire landscape of the investment profession as we know it.”