Why Asset Managers Should Focus On Costs, Compliance

While it’s true that passive ETFs and other low cost investment products have flourished, mutual funds haven’t been left out in the cold during the last few years. After falling from $26.1 trillion in global assets in 2007 to $18.9 trillion in 2008, mutual funds have passed their previous high and reached $30 trillion in global AUM, according to a recent Ernst & Young report on wealth and asset management. But that doesn’t mean it’s back to business as usual.

“Many basic axioms that governed investor behavior and the operation of the industry have long since been discredited....