Ann: Funds Under Management - September 2022, page-64

I agree. I've sold traded MFG a few times now. Made a little, but am going to take a hit today and leave it alone. I think one can fly too close to sun on shares like this. I could be wrong but one of the interesting things about the covid lock downs, and the free money, was the rise in retail investors - sitting at home and trading with their aps. Many people learnt a lot during this time - reading balance sheets, learning some simple ways to value companies. And we had time on our hands to read about what companies and sectors we might like.
The point being - the need for managers like MFG and PTM is getting less and less. Those who may have thrown their money at a manager in the past might now find they don't need that "expertise". You're paying fees for doing something you could do yourself.
Many smart people I know have pulled their money from fund managers and are in low fee index funds.
And many who enjoy stock picking pulled their money from managers too - to pick the stocks themselves.

I am a mix of both - most of the $$ is tied up in low fee index funds (about 85%). And there is some money left for "playing". I know full well that I might lose it, and the index will perform better. But stock picking is enjoyable. Especially when it pays off.

At the same time as these retail individuals are moving on, the big money is also moving on - to better alternatives for their own client bases. And the super rich will always have other options for making money (don't worry about them).

I don't think FUM will go to zero like some are saying. That's because there will always be some who did not "get with the program". A classic example is my grandmother. She's 101. She has her money with a fund manager and she gets regular income from it. Does she care if the fees are a bit high? No. Does she care if the performance is lower than market? No. It's easy to not care when you have dementia. That's an extreme example but you get my point.