Concentration at Top Continues for US Mutual Fund Industry

Stephen Harris

25 October 2006

Vanguard Group and American Funds joined Fidelity Investments as trillion-dollar mutual-fund managers in the third quarter, lifting total US assets to $10.32 trillion for the first time and further concentrating assets at the top of the industry, according to quarterly analysis by Bobroff Consulting of the US. Fidelity, Vanguard and American now control 30 per cent of US fund assets, the highest concentration since Bobroff began compiling the statistics in 1999. Fidelity held a 10.7 per cent market share, followed by Vanguard at 10 per cent and American at 9.8 per cent. The 10 largest managers have a 47 per cent market share, and the top 60 manage 91 per cent of the industry's assets. Total fund assets in the survey increased 9.6 per cent from $9.42 trillion in December 2005 and 14 per cent from $9.05 trillion in September 2005.