According to the Pensions & Investments/Towers Watson World 500 report, which ranked asset managers based on total assets under management (AUM) at the end of 2013, Macquarie Group had US$330.6 billion under management.
This was followed by CBA, with US$187.3 billion, and NAB/MLC with US$128.7 billion.
Both Macquarie and CBA were among the top 100 largest global asset managers, with Macquarie in 52nd place and CBA at 90th.
BlackRock was the largest asset manager globally, with US$4,324 billion in AUM, followed by Vanguard with US$2,753 billion, and Allianz Global Investors with US$2,393 billion in AUM.
The research also revealed that in the past 10 years, the number of independently-owned asset managers in the top 20 global ranking has more than doubled.
Independently-owned asset managers now account for a majority, overtaking both bank- and insurer-owned firms, which have both declined in the same period.
Towers Watson senior investment consultant Alek Misev said the shape of the asset management industry has changed significantly in the past decade, with “fewer bank-owned managers in existence as they have been forced to focus on the pressing issues of risk reduction and capital adequacy”.
“As such, during this time there have been a number of high profile sales which have impacted where assets are domiciled, and the US has been the biggest beneficiary of this trend,” Mr Misev said.
He believes that in the future, new entrants to the asset management industry from other sectors could further unsettle its structure.
“This disruption will most likely come from technology companies who can combine their scale and data with partnerships in the industry to provide compelling asset management propositions,” he said.
The research also showed growth has been more significant for the passive managers, with the growth rate for leading passive managers at 12 per cent annually compared with the overall growth rate of 6 per cent for the top 500 asset managers.
In 2013, assets managed by passive managers grew 16 per cent to US$10 trillion, up from US$3 trillion a decade ago.
