"Disruptive change is a persistent topic for this year's GMM."

Thomas Faust Eaton Vance Investment Management Chairman, Chief Executive Officer

Tom Faust, chairman and CEO of Eaton Vance and chair of the ICI general membership meeting planning committee, shares that sentiment and more this afternoon in his introductory remarks at the trade group's big 2016 conference at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. Faust offers fundsters a preview of the agenda for this year's conference.

Faust reminds fundsters about the rapid industry changes even in the past decade. He notes that passive investments now account for 28.5 percent of industry AUM, while ETFs account for 14 percent and smart beta and target date funds continue to rise. And he talks of the industry's challenges.

"Advisory fee rates are lower, distribution costs of higher, and the majority of fund complexes are now in net outflows," Faust says, pointing to a recent article that wonders if the asset manager industry is experiencing its "Napster moment."

Yet Faust foresees "a stronger and better investment industry."

"I can't help but being optimistic about the future of investment management," Faust says. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE