FundIndustry Insight Reports

Lipper FundIndustry Insight Reports provide timely summaries and analyses of key events and issues in the mutual fund industry. These periodic reports allow you to stay abreast of current industry trends and issues via commentary from Lipper analysts.

77 reports found
Title (click to expand) Date Published Download
The Halfway Point 11/6/2009 View Report

This report examines the impact of the financial market downturn on fund expense ratios. We have examined the semiannual reports for mutual funds that have been released since the financial crisis of late 2008 and we are now able to measure actual expense ratio changes in basis points, rather than estimating the impacts.

- Approximately 70% of all equity fund total expense ratios increased over this period. For funds with increases, the average increase was 8.2 bps. Approximately 25% of the expense increases were greater than 10 bps.

- Long-term fixed income fund total expense ratios were largely unchanged. This is true for both taxable funds and municipal debt funds.

- Money market fund total expense ratios declined by 3.3 bps. Most of this decrease was driven by increased waivers for retail money market funds.

- Much of the increase in equity fund expense ratios was driven by increases in transfer agency fees and other fixed nonmanagement expenses. As fund assets declined, there was a smaller asset base over which to spread fixed costs.

- Lipper estimates that industry revenue derived from management fees is down approximately 40%. Total fees collected by the industry are down an estimated 30%.

Picking Up The Pieces: Fund Companies Respond to the State of the Industry One Year Later 10/19/2009 View Report
As the U.S. fund industry begins to recover from possibly the worst economic and financial correction that it has ever experienced, it is important to understand what has changed from a year ago. Lipper sent a survey to a number of U.S. asset managers in order to gauge some of the industry’s reactions to the recent market events and identify potential changes, going forward. This report aggregates the responses of this recent survey.

- The U.S. fund industry is beginning to exhibit some signs of stabilization as the recent recession appears to be easing. Fund assets have increased substantially from February lows, driven by strong market returns and increasing net sales of mutual fund shares.

- The impact of the past year on fund expense caps seems to have been mixed. While a number of firms sought board approval for expense cap increases, it appears that it was only for a small number of funds. A number of firms indicated that expense caps were lowered for funds over the past year as well.

- It is likely that 2009 will realize more merger activity than has been experienced in the industry for some time. As fund assets plummeted, many funds were merged due to decreasing sales and in order to stem some operational inefficiencies.

- As expected, profitability for asset managers has declined over the past year. Substantial declines in assets under management decreased firm profitability.

(Executive Summary only – Please contact us to purchase the full version of this report.)
2008 Fund Expense Recap 5/26/2009 View Report
Lipper's review of U.S. 2008 fund fiscal expense ratios, current investment expense trends, and fee and expense outlook for 2009.
Riding The Currents 3/31/2009 View Report
Riding The Currents - A Fund Executive's Guide to Maintaining Revenue Streams and Asset Flows.
A Means of Mitigating Fund Losses in Turbulent Markets 12/13/2008 View Report
- In 2008 investors could have mitigated losses (improved their returns on average) by as much as 11.61 percentage points by choosing a fund with a Lipper Leader for Preservation rating.

- Adding an evaluation of downside risk to the portfolio review and creation process can help temper the wild swings we encounter every now and then.

- Lipper Leaders for Preservation is a tool investors can use to evaluate the downside history of their funds in their overall asset allocation and diversification portfolio-building process.
GCC Fund Market Report H1 2008 - Stock Markets in the GCC Recorded Positive Returns for First Semester 2008 8/15/2008 View Report
GCC markets posted mixed results during the first semester, with two of the seven markets closing in the red. The Kuwaiti and Omani bourses retained their bull trends, with the Kuwait Stock Exchange posting a 26.95% return and the Muscat Securities Markets 30 a 25.30% return. The Qatari market rebounded strongly during the second quarter, posting an astonishing 24.00% return after a mediocre first quarter (-0.20%). For their part the Abu Dhabi and Bahraini bourses recorded positive performances, notably during the second quarter, and ended the semester gaining 8.82% for the Abu Dhabi Securities Market and 3.47% for the Bahrain All Shares. On the other hand, the Dubai and Saudi markets were the big losers of the first six months, shedding 8.24% and 15.26%, respectively.
Lipper Hedge Fund Survey, November 2007 1/2/2008 View Report
Global hedge fund managers optimistic for industry performance in 2008, citing Distressed Securities, Global Macro, Long/Short Equity and Emerging Markets as the likely best performing strategies
Lipper Hedge Fund Survey, November 2007 1/1/2008 View Report
Global hedge fund managers optimistic for industry performance in 2008 citing Distressed Securities, Global Macro, Long/Short Equity and Emerging Markets as the likely best performing strategies
Lipper Performance Fees in the UK 12/10/2007 View Report
This new report provides an overview of the use of performance fees in the UK, touching on different relevant issues, including:

- Performance fees are used by around 1% of Unit Trusts and OEICs in the UK, three years after the ban on these fee structures was lifted.

- Examining FSA regulations on structuring performance fees shows how different factors may help investors.

- Looking at the use of performance fees by funds in other European domiciles and by closed-ended funds in the UK reveals how much more widely performance fees are used.

- US mutual funds’ use of performance-related (fulcrum) fees, including 130/30 funds, offer interesting comparisons.

- The relative annual management fees for funds with and without performance fee structures are compared - assessing whether funds with performance fees bear lower ‘fixed’ fees.

- A ‘checklist’ of factors to be considered when assessing performance fees is provided as a guide for investors and fund companies

For further information, please contact:

Claire Appleton
Global Client Account Manager
Lipper

E-mail: claire.appleton@reuters.com
Tel: +44 20 7307 1464

or

Ed Moisson
Director of European Fiduciary Operations
Lipper

Tel: +44 20 7307 1460
Email: ed.moisson@reuters.com
Ranking Target-Date Funds Using Past Performance--Part II 11/29/2007 View Report
In Part II of Ranking Target-Date Funds Using Past Performance, we show ranking results for 2010, 2020, and 2040 target-date funds using the newly developed methodology of paired comparison diagraphs. This methodology produces the same results as the Bradley Terry method used in Part I where we described the ranking methodology and showed results for 2030 target-date funds.
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