, Columnist
The Asset-Management Pressure Cooker
Offsetting lower fees with more client money only works so long.
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Pressure is rising for the biggest asset managers to significantly change the way they do business.
Behemoth investment firms, from Fidelity to Vanguard to BlackRock, are locked in fierce competition to attract assets, even if that means dropping their fees closer to zero. The result has been increasing strain, borne in large part by asset-management employees, who are being laid off or paid less.