Sellside analysts are upbeat about prospects for the fund management industry, despite falling markets and pricing pressures recently identified by commentators such as PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The accounting firm predicted margins would crash 50% in 2001. Falling equity markets have a direct and negative impact on fund managers' bottom lines, because their fees are a proportion of assets under management. Managers with an exposure to retail markets receive a double whammy, because bear markets scare individual investors away.