Despite tumult in the banking industry across Europe and notable changes in customer demand, German middle-market banking has been remarkably stable over the past three years —with some important exceptions.

U.K. institutional assets rise steeply, driven by corporate growth. Overall allocations are largely stable, but ‘other’ allocations grow with increased specialization and diversification. Corporates: the hunt for niche solutions to address growth...

Despite further decline in yields, market returns and corporate contributions supported funding stability through last year, but schemes still remain severely deficit challenged and have worsened considerably since. As investors diversify,...

Downward fee pressure from all will be strong, especially Local Authorities will be strong, given this is a key driver behind pooling.

Recognised solicitation activity continues to strengthen year-on-year.

Rapid growth in the use of Diversified Growth and LDI continues. Given the focus on LDI, Active Fixed Income use stabilises.

The influence of investment consultants varies across markets, and the U.K. and U.S. continue to lead the world in consultant use.

Across the Continent, institutional investors are looking into new asset classes with higher expected returns to compensate for low returns in core fixed income and equity investments.

The low interest rate environment is driving investors towards diversification into more specialized assets classes where they expect higher returns.

Review the number of managers soliciting new business among investors.