Scottish Financial Enterprise
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    1. Banks and Building Societies
    2. General Insurance, Life Assurance and Pensions
    3. Investment Managers
    4. Asset Servicing
    5. Corporate Finance and Broking
    6. Professional Advisors
    7. Business Services
    8. Public and Private Bodies
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Investment managers

Scotland has long been renowned as a centre of excellence in investment management with its origins dating back to the nineteenth century.  

The sector encompasses a broad mix of large institutional, and smaller employee-owned businesses that deliver a wide variety of innovative investment services to institutional and personal clients around the world. 

The significant number of mergers and acquisitions within the global fund management industry in recent years has reduced the overall number of Scotland’s investment management institutions, but provided strong foundations for the future.  The quality of investment management expertise available in Scotland led to a robust growth of boutique firms and business start-ups in the sector in Scotland - a trend that looks set to continue. 

Key facts and figures

The majority of our member firms in the investment management sector have their global or UK headquarters in Scotland, primarily in Edinburgh.

Our member firms service their UK wide customer base from Scotland, while the majority also service the rest of Europe and the US from their Scottish base. A number of them also coordinate their global client servicing from Scotland.

*SFE member companies managed over £750 billion of funds directly from Scotland, most of which are managed by companies within the investment management sector.
Scotland’s investment management sector has extensive experience in areas including:
  • Investment trusts
  • OEICs (open ended investment companies)
  • Unit trusts
  • Global equity
  • Global fixed income
  • Money market funds
  • Private equity
  • Venture capital
  • Property funds
  • Hedge funds
  • Specialist equity and bond funds
  • Emerging market funds

It also services a diverse international client mix from around the world including:

  • Private clients
  • Institutional mandates
  • Retail funds
  • Corporate pension funds
  • Stakeholder pensions
  • Personal pensions
  • Charities

*Funds under management are as of April 2011

Did you know?

The Investment Trust movement grew up in the 1870s as a vehicle for world-wide collective investment (the emerging market funds of the nineteenth century) and was pioneered by a Scotsman, Robert Fleming of Dundee.  The primary investors were the rich owners of the Dundee based jute industry who wanted to invest their profits. 

Robert Fleming’s fame is somewhat overshadowed by his grandson, Ian Fleming, the novelist and creator of James Bond.

Organisations

Some of our members:

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