Invesco hopes its independent status will help it gather assets in Italy, where the US house recently participated in a joint promotional tour with Fidelity, BlackRock and Schroders.

Sergio Trezzi, managing director and Italian country head at Invesco, says the fund company participated in the month-long “road show” because executives liked “the concept of having a road show dedicated only to independent asset management”.

“It makes sense to go on a road show with just independent asset managers,” Mr Trezzi says. “We do not have any conflict of interest. We think this is a very important element.”

He says Invesco believes the time is right for an Italian tour because flows are beginning to recover after a difficult couple of years.

“We strongly believe that flows will come back again into funds,” Mr Trezzi observes. “And we strongly believe that more and more people are going to choose independent asset managers. That’s why we believe there are opportunities for companies like ours.”

Investors could be driven back to funds in part by the quest for alpha. Mr Trezzi says the equity market will be more complex in 2010 as the economy continues to strengthen, making professional stock-picking all the more important.

As investors in Italy return to funds, they will choose to invest by the brand of the company and not only by the individual fund, he predicts.

Invesco and other independent asset managers could benefit from distributors trying to win back the trust of cautious Italian investors, says Daniel Enskat, global head of consulting at Strategic Insight.

Fund distributors are looking for organisational stability and a “back to basics” investment process, he explains.

“A lot of the big European distributors lost a lot of the goodwill and trust of the investors,” Mr Enskat says. “They lost their bread-and-butter business and now need something to re-connect with clients. Italy is a good example.”

He adds, “If you have an independent asset manager that can help you rebuild credibility, then that’s a great thing, and some distributors are embracing that and trying to sell based on that.”

Italy’s investors are largely focused on safety first, studies show. Capital security is the main concern of 72 per cent of Italian investors, according to a survey conducted in June on behalf of Italy’s national asset management association, Assogestioni. That compares with 60 per cent before the subprime crisis and 53 per cent prior to 2001.

Reputation is a prized asset for money managers, but success ultimately depends on a company’s investment record and performance, says industry consultant Burt Greenwald of Philadelphia-based BJ Greenwald Associates.

By Marc Hogan
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