Transitioning back to normal

Institutional investment managers are looking to resume asset transitions in record numbers.

Mark Keleher, CEO of the Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon Asset Management's transition manager Mellon Transition Management (MTM), thinks institutional investors are on the verge of an unprecedented level of asset manager replacements.

According to Keleher, investors have increased their exposure to indexing and longer-duration bond strategies and scaled back on the number of firms actively managing their assets.

His assessment is based on the 40% increase in pre-trade inquiries MTM received in the first five months of the year and the increase in executed transitions from the first to second quarter. The exact increase was not available.

The decision to resume transitions signals a return to normalcy for transition managers. After last year's credit crunch, a number of managers exited the market because of decreased business and high infrastructure and operating costs. Those who remain have gained market share but have been operating in a down market.