The global evolution of low-volatility investment in asset management

In recent years, investors scarred by the wild market and asset prices swings that followed the bursting of the dot.com bubble, the sub-prime debt implosion and the European debt crisis have developed a healthy – and growing appetite for low-volatility strategies.

Asset managers are responding to this demand. According to data from Informa Financial Intelligence’s EPFR, by mid-2Q19 there were 204 low-volatility funds globally with a total Asset under Management (AuM) of over US$130 billion. US-based firms account for three-quarters of the current total, but interest is growing in other parts of the world and the number of globally mandated low-volatility funds has increased significantly in recent years. This has been accompanied by an increase in the number of benchmark indices, highlighting the fact that the current spectrum of low-volatility strategies is underpinned by multiple methodologies.