The 2020 rollercoaster rolls on for asset managers, with record highs and dramatic falls for financial markets. In March, European asset managers faced £32.9bn in outflows, the highest since the global financial crisis, resulting in a drop in fee revenue and dwindling cash reserves as redemptions peaked at 3.1% of assets under management.

We are now emerging from the crisis and firms are beginning to plan again for the long-term. And they should do so with deal opportunities higher up the agenda. 2019 saw 265 M&A transactions in the asset management industry and, as the world slowly returns to the “new normal”, we expect the second half of 2020 to mirror this level of activity.