WHO'S TOP ERISA MANAGER?
JP Morgan appears to have consolidated its long-held position as the leading manager of US pension funds' international assets, but the growing number of money managers vying for clients' funds is leading to increased competition among the followers.
According to Euromoney's exclusive ranking by assets, compiled from data by InterSec Research of Stamford, Connecticut, overseas placement by American pension funds totalled nearly $27 billion at the end of 1985, up $12 billion for the year. This is an increase greater than the year-end total for all Erisa funds in 1983. The figure demonstrates that the market for Erisa funds is substantial, but in the past five years the number of international money managers competing for Erisa assets has doubled to almost 100.
In addition, the top group of the managers competing for those assets consistently capture 80% of them. However, there have been some dramatic shifts in their pecking order and an increasing proportion of new appointments are going to US-based money-managers now investing internationally.
The big winner was JP Morgan, which had $3.2 billion of US tax-exempt money under international management at the end of 1985. This figure represents a substantial 40% increase over its $2.2