List of Biggest Fund Companies in 2008
Size isn’t everything, but fund companies with a large number of assets are probably doing something right. In addition, the larger companies are generally able to keep costs down and weather difficult economic times better than smaller companies. So, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the top 50 fund companies ranked by assets.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the bulk of assets are with the top three firms: Vanguard, American Funds, and Fidelity. Together, they have over $2.6 trillion dollars. Yes, that’s trillion, with a T. After Fidelity, the assets per company drop off sharply. The top three firms hold the bulk of investor’s money by far.
Something else that’s interesting is to look at the prior year assets compared to 2008. Most companies lost billions of dollars in assets this year. This is in large part due to the simple fact that equity funds have lost a lot of value over the past year, but it’s also partly due to many investors dumping equities and moving to cash or bond funds. In fact, if you look at Pimco Funds, which are heavy with bond funds, actually gained assets from 2006 to 2007, and 2007 to 2008.
So, here’s the rest of the list. All data was as of the end of the 3rd quarter, and dollar amounts are all listed in billions.
Author: Jeremy Vohwinkle
My name is Jeremy Vohwinkle, and I’ve spent a number of years working in the finance industry providing financial advice to regular investors and those participating in employer-sponsored retirement plans.
