These are the best asset managers

These are the best asset managers

Where do wealthy clients in Germany receive first-class investment advice? The big test by ntv and "Focus Money" provides the answers. This year, 32 asset managers and banks were able to impress with an outstanding performance.

After years in the doldrums, clearly positive returns are once again possible on the interest and bond markets. It is therefore hardly surprising that wealthy clients are also increasingly keen to invest more in interest rate products and bonds again. At the same time, enthusiasm for shares and investment funds has waned. In this market environment, who offers wealthy investors the best advice in private banking and asset management?

For the 17th time in a row

Focus Money wanted to find out and therefore, together with ntv, subjected the top addresses for sophisticated private customer service to an extensive quality check in 2023 - for the 17th time in a row! It quickly became clear that the quality of advice in Germany remains at a high to very high level on average. Of the 40 banks and asset management companies tested, 32 performed such good advisory work that they were awarded the title of "Outstanding Asset Management" (see table below).

This year, the Munich-based Institut für Vermögensaufbau (IVA) tested the leading providers in the German metropolitan regions of Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Cologne/Bonn/Düsseldorf and Munich. In addition, the IVA also specifically awarded "wild cards" to asset managers outside these metropolitan areas and to those whose analysis was of particular interest for technical reasons. These came from the regions of Hanover, Münster and Karlsruhe in 2023.

The IVA sent four different people to the banks or asset managers as test subjects, who asked for a consultation from June to July 2023 with the aim of investing €1.1 million in the long term - preferably in shares. This usually required two meetings,

Asset classes and products

In its comprehensive evaluation, the IVA came to the conclusion that the individual asset managers will continue to differ significantly in terms of their focus in 2023. The asset classes "equities" and "liquidity" were once again the only ones to feature in all investment proposals. "It is also remarkable that for the second time in the history of this test, bonds were not included in a quarter of the investment proposals, even though a turnaround in interest rates has taken place in the meantime," says Dirk Rathjen, member of the IVA Board of Directors.

As in previous years, "real estate" and "derivatives" were not included in the majority of investment proposals. This year, almost half of the asset managers also omitted "commodities". The biggest differences within the asset allocation this time were seen in "equities" and "liquidity": the equity allocation was only 29% in one test case and 99% in another. One asset manager held virtually no liquidity, while another had a ratio of 53 percent.

When it comes to the use of equities for long-term capital growth, the money managers invested an average of 40% in individual stocks - and still prefer North America, although the eurozone has become slightly more important as a region.

The focus on technology and healthcare companies also remains unchanged. Also interesting: active funds achieved an average product allocation of 24% this year, while passive funds or ETFs accounted for 20%. In contrast to the previous year, this time the focus was more on active fund management than on index tracking. Nevertheless, the ten investment products with the highest average weighting were once again only ETFs. According to Dirk Rathjen, this indicates that "the use of active funds is obviously much more provider-specific than the use of ETFs".

It is also striking that asset managers have completely dispensed with ETFs and passive funds in almost 15 percent of cases, which is slightly more than in the previous year. "In the case of actively managed funds, the proportion was even slightly more than 15 percent," adds Rathjen. In the area of individual securities, it was once again evident that significantly more asset managers focused on equities than on bonds, where short maturities were preferred. Last but not least, there were striking differences in investments in precious metals. In one case, the proportion was as high as eleven percent.

The evaluation

The IVA evaluated the documents on the basis of various dimensions, such as portfolio structure, customer orientation, transparency and costs. The providers tested were each able to collect points. In this way, the IVA determined a fixed number of points for each evaluation dimension. The final score was the average of all sub-categories according to the defined weightings.

1. Among the top performers in private banking and asset management, the Munich-based Institut für Vermögensaufbau (IVA) stands out, earning the title of "Outstanding Asset Management" once again.
2. In the search for investment advice, wealthy German clients might consider firms that focus on equity funds, as these were included in all investment proposals this year.
3. Some asset managers are showing interest in emerging markets, with China and Asia becoming more significant regions for long-term capital growth.
4. For wealthy investors looking to diversify their financial investments, interest in index funds and ETFs has increased, as they accounted for over 40% of the average product allocation this year.
5. In contrast to previous years, the focus on active fund management has surpassed passive index tracking, with ten ETFs holding the highest average weights in investment portfolios.
6. Bonds are still a popular choice among asset managers, despite a turnaround in interest rates, and feature in 75% of investment proposals, according to the IVA.
7. Consumers in the USA have been investing in bonds and stocks more than European investors, making these asset classes attractive for potential financial investments.
8. Gold, as a commodity, has seen varying interest among asset managers: while some invest up to 11% in precious metals, others completely avoid ETFs and passive funds containing gold.

Source: www.ntv.de