Published : 8 years ago, on 25/10/2016

• Private equity firms are the most optimistic about the future

New research⁽¹⁾  from FIRST, a leading global events agency, amongst 179 professionals in the private equity, fund management, pensions and insurance sectors, reveals that they expect significant changes in their respective industries over the next three years,  however those in private equity are the most optimistic about their future.

Between now and 2019, 63% of private equity professionals expect the level of funds they raise to increase, with 69% saying this will be driven by investors increasingly looking to diversify and increase their exposure to their sector.  In contrast, less than half (45%) of fund managers expect the value of assets raised by their industry over this period to rise, and the same percentage thinks it will fall.

Within the next five years 74% of fund management professionals believe their industry will reduce charges on their funds, which will affect their margins.

The fund management industry may also lose out to the growing trend of pension funds insourcing more of their asset management and becoming less reliant on external managers.  Over the next five years, 38% of pension professionals believe schemes will use fewer external fund managers, whereas just one in five (20%) think they will use more.

Within the insurance sector, 87% of professionals believe there is too much regulation in their industry, although despite this 15% anticipates a huge increase in the number of new innovative products launched by insurers in the next three years; and a further 56% think there will be a slight increase in this trend.

Mark Riches, MD FIRST – UK said: “Our research shows that financial professionals are expecting huge changes to take place in their respective sectors over the next few years, although there is some disparity over what impact they will have.  Our research shows that 28% of financial industry professionals expect to attend more conferences and events over the next 12 months, compared to 11% who anticipate they will be attending fewer.

“One of the main reasons for this is to network and meet others in their industries to discuss trends and views. Live events are a valuable tool to increase communications, build ideas and foster innovation. At FIRST we use our breadth of global expertise to help our clients deliver their important key messages in insightful and memorable ways.”

FIRST, which was founded as First Protocol in 1996, is a global events agency with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles and Singapore. It specializes in the design and delivery of high-quality, live events for some of the world’s most iconic companies, including financial services, aerospace, technology, medical, automotive, media and the non-profit sector.