The Group of Boutique Asset Managers (GBAM), a global network of independent specialist asset managers is urging investment consultants, fund platforms, and advisers to re-evaluate their approach to boutique funds, following the release of a second major academic study validating the performance edge of specialist asset managers – first identified in a GBAM sponsored study published in 2022.
That study – titled: Is there a Boutique Asset Management Premium? and conducted by Andrew Clare, Professor of Asset Management at Bayes Business School – provided the first quantitative analysis of boutique performance across global fund sectors.
The latest academic paper – titled: The Case for Boutiques – was also authored by Professor Clare in partnership with the Independent Investment Management Initiative (IIMI). The research, based on a survey of 87 mainly UK and European boutique asset managers, identified four key attributes that give boutiques a competitive edge: independence, focus, alignment with clients, and agility in decision making.
GBAM welcomes the IIMI study which reinforces the findings of its own, earlier research into more than 780 funds across 120 large and boutique fund groups, and which revealed consistent outperformance in four key sectors, including European Mid/Small Cap and Global Emerging Markets.
GBAM urges that when the two studies are taken together – firstly quantitative followed by the second qualitative – the advantage of investing with a boutique becomes impossible to ignore.
The chairman of the Group of Boutique Asset Managers (GBAM), Tim Warrington said,
“This is now the second academic, peer-reviewed study in recent years confirming what many investors already know: boutiques can deliver a premium over their larger counterparts. But despite the growing body of evidence, boutiques often remain underrepresented on platforms and are too often overlooked by consultants.
“In a world of shrinking alpha and increased industry consolidation, we’re urging gatekeepers to rethink how they value specialist, performance-led managers.”
GBAM also stressed the global dimension of boutique asset management — contrasting its international footprint with the more UK-centric IIMI. While the IIMI predominantly represents UK-based firms, GBAM includes members from Europe, Asia, and the Americas, offering a cross-border perspective on the challenges boutiques face and the value they create.
Warrington added:
“This isn’t just a UK story. The boutique premium exists in global markets too, and clients globally are recognising the benefits of backing focused, specialist managers. Our challenge now is to make sure the ecosystem – from consultants to platforms – keeps pace with the evidence.”
