Merian Global Investors chief executive Richard Buxton has revealed how the investment house will expand in the years to come.
Merian, which Mr Buxton and fund management colleagues bought from Old Mutual and renamed earlier this year, has a "three to five-year" plan for growth.
This plan includes examining several areas of the investment market where Merian currently has no capacity.
He said: "If market conditions continue as they are now, then 2019 will be a challenge for asset management firms, especially those which are listed, as they are geared plays on the performance of investment markets."
Mr Buxton and his colleagues own Merian in partnership with private equity house TA Associates, so the company is not listed.
He said: "The challenge for all asset managers is to ensure that the cost base is suitable for the market conditions. We also want to make sure that we can invest and grow over the next five years."
Mr Buxton, who in addition to being chief executive of the firm also runs the £2bn Merian UK Alpha fund, highlighted a number of areas where the company does not presently have a product, including large cap European equities and long-short funds, as areas to explore in future.
The company does not have a dedicated Japanese equity fund, but Mr Buxton said this was not an area being considered at the present time.
The first new product to come to market under the Merian name was an investment trust Merian Chyrisalyis, run by experienced UK equity fund managers Richard Watts and Nick Williamson.
The trust raised £100m at launch, with Mr Buxton commenting that given the current market conditions he was "happy" with the amount raised.
He said: "There are no current plans or ideas to launch another investment trust, though having done the first one, it was a learning curve, and that may make it easier to launch a trust in future."
Mr Buxton has previously said alternative assets and ethical, sustainable and governance (ESG) are other areas where resource is being deployed.
Mr Buxton, Mr Watts, global equity manager Ian Heslop, UK small cap manager Dan Nickols and fund manager Amadeo Alentorn, acquired the business with private equity backers.
All continue to run funds.
david.thorpe@ft.com
