Invesco buys Jemstep: why asset managers are driving robo consolidation
12 January 2016
William Trout
First BlackRock buys FutureAdvisor, now Invesco snaps up Jemstep. Consolidation of the robo advisor space is heating up, with asset managers leading the way. Why asset managers? Simply put, they are keen on improving distribution and reversing the erosion of pricing power caused by:
- Their distance from the end consumer of their product (i.e. the retail investor), which has given them limited pricing leverage as well as something of a tin ear for investor needs
- Brutal price competition in the ETF space itself