Finance in asset management
the economics of asset management: fee structures and margins, fee compression, operating leverage on AUM, and how flows drive the business.
This Finance block applies core financial discipline to Asset & Wealth Management, where revenue is driven by fee margins on assets under management rather than balance-sheet lending. You will learn how AWM firms make money, how fund economics and client portfolios are structured, and how to read the financial statements of asset managers and wealth platforms. The block covers the calculations, benchmarks and ratios that define profitability and scale in this sector across the US and Europe. It closes with the regulatory regimes, financial risks and due-diligence checks specific to managing other people's money, including fee transparency, liquidity, and fiduciary obligations.
What you'll master
- Read an asset manager's P&L and isolate management fee, performance fee and net flow drivers
- Calculate AUM-based revenue, fee margin in basis points, and operating margin with worked examples
- Benchmark cost-to-income, net new money and expense ratios against US and European peers
- Run financial due-diligence checks on fund liquidity, fee structures and regulatory capital