Fundsters, especially those not at smaller asset managers, appear to be expanding their key distribution partner lists, according to new research from the folks at a consulting firm near Boston.

Loren Fox Fuse Research Network LLC Director of Research

Yesterday (June 24), Loren Fox director of research at Fuse Research Network, revealed that the average fund firm now has 12.3 key distribution partnerships (referred to as "focus" or "tier 1" partnerships), a 10-percent boost the 11.2 partnerships on average over the prior five years (2020 through 2024). Fox confirms that the finding draws on an April-May 2025 Fuse survey of asset managers and will be included in Fuse's next National Accounts Benchmark report, which is scheduled to roll out next month.

"We had 25 firms of varying size participate in the survey, with ample representation of large, mid-size & small managers," Fox tells MFWire via email. (The Fuse team defines large asset managers as those with more than $100 billion each in AUM, mid-size firms as those with between $25 billion and $100 billion each, and small firms as those with less than $25 billion each.)

The rising focus partner count, the Fuse team found, is concentrated almost exclusively among large and mid-size firms. Large firms each now work with an average of 15.4 tier 1 partners, up 23 percent from a 2020-2024 average of 12.5 tier 1 partners each. And mid-size fund firms now work with an average of 11 focus partners each, up 12 percent from an average of 9.8 focus partners each from 2020 to 2024.

"It's a little surprising that firms have added focus partners at a time when uncertainty has been hovering over the markets, but it speaks to managers' strong desire to expand their audiences and connect more deeply with advisors," Fox writes. "Due to their size and resources, it's been a bit easier for large and mid-size firms to take on the additional costs of adding 1 or 2 focus partners."

"Tier 1 partnerships demand more resources, but they also offer more access to advisors, better data, and greater visibility," Fox states. "As a result, asset managers typically generate two-thirds or more of gross sales from Focus partners."

Meanwhile, the Fuse team found that small asset managers now have an average of 11.5 tier 1 partners each, up only slightly from 11.4 each on average from 2020 to 2024.

"The number of Focus partners for Small organizations has been highly consistent over the last six years," Fox states. 

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