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FOREWORD
Despite all the hype about exploding connectivity and the death of distance, where we live, and work is more important than ever. It is true that things can be done anywhere on the Internet, but at the end of the day, it’s still a people’s business. Enrico Moretti
The emergence of the asset management industry is a direct consequence of some critical post-war historical events. The general improvement in the standard of liv- ing in developed countries allowed households to start saving and, over time, to think about diversifying their investments.
Asset management is a fundamental concept which directly or indirectly concerns any natural, legal or moral person, whether or not of high class. Individuals should have at least a basic knowledge of investment funds because, sometimes, even with- out knowing it, everyone is invested in one of these financial market products.
The role of asset management is crucial for the development of the economy. Private individuals’ savings are injected into the economy, financing companies and pro- jects. The proceeds from the funding are then turned back to private individuals in the form of capital appreciation or dividends, thereby creating wealth.
The asset management industry is relatively young, as we shall see in this volume, and is characterised by very different players operating in the wealth management value chain for the creation, management, and distribution of products. The latter can be relatively simple, such as those intended for retail clients, and sophisticated, such as those for institutional clients or those with a very high level and financial culture. To provide some preliminary data that will be analysed in more detail, the industry, despite the crisis period, is growing relatively steadily, as in 2017, there were 4,393 asset managers, while in 2021, already 4,803 (an increase of about 9%)1. Underlying this industry are clear and well-defined objectives related to managing savings for re-use in the economic cycle by providing customers with a cost-effi- cient instrument, diversified in terms of investment types, with an appropriate risk control policy and in a regulated and controlled environment.
The regulation of this sector is one of the key elements we will deal with in this vol- ume. Financial markets are among the most regulated sectors of the economy to pro-
1 Reprocessing of data provided by EFAMA in their report Asset Management in Europe - An Overview of the Asset Management Industry.
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