Cerulli Associates, the US-based analytics firm, says Mirae Asset, South Korea’s largest investment manager, “has been trying to develop a pan-Asian footprint longer than most, starting as far back as 2003 with the opening of its Hong Kong office. The company has also made forays into India, China, and Taiwan. However, its efforts to gather assets across the region have hitherto yielded unspectacular results.”

The commentary, under the title, Pan-Asian Pipe Dream, is taken from The Cerulli Edge - Asian Monthly Product Trends Edition, May 2015 Issue.

“Mirae Asset did its homework and the necessary preparation about the comments and may update in due course. In February this year the firm added to its sales efforts for the Nordic and Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg). It has a presence in 12 countries.

The Cerulli commentary comes at a time when there is considerable commentary on how the centre of economic gravity is shifting to Asia. The region does boast some significant investment management players, such as Japan-headquartered Nikko Asset Management, for example, as well as Australia-based AMP Capital and Macquarie’s asset management unit.

Cerulli argued it will be difficult for Asian asset managers to turn the tide because global players that have established their footprints across Asia are “well ahead of the game and will be hard to dislodge”.

“Their positions will be further reinforced if investors in secular markets such as Korea and India start thinking about investing in overseas strategies,” the report added.