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 over the past five years has reduced the overall number of Scotland’s investment management institutions, but provided strong foundations for future growth and expansion. The quality of investment management expertise available in Scotland has lead to a robust growth of boutique firms and new business start-ups in the sector in Scotland - a trend that looks set to continue.

Key facts and figures

All of our member firms in the investment management sector have their global or UK headquarters in Scotland.

The global nature of the sector is reflected in its working populations. Our investment management members employ over 3,300 people in Scotland, over 1,400 staff in the rest of the UK, over 500 in Continental Europe, 4,900 in the US, more than 2,000 in Asia and a further 1,100 in the rest of the world, totaling over 13,000 worldwide.

All of 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 golobal client servicing from Scotland.

SFE member companies manage over £580 billion of funds directly from Scotland, most of which aremanaged by companies within the investment management sector. Our investment management member companies manage around £468 billion in Scotland, of which £251billion is invested in equities, some £135billion in bonds, around £28billion in property and over £30billion in cash. Over £21billion is invested elsewhere.

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

Key sector statistics for SFE member companies

Employment within Scotland	>3,000
Employment outside Scotland	>10,000
Funds managed in Scotland (within Investment Management sector)*	>£468billion
Total cross sector funds managed in Scotland by all SFE members*	>£580billion

*Funds under management are as of 31 March 2007

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.

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