UK Institutional Market Study

The UK Institutional Market Study (UKIMS) was launched in 2015 and designed to give a deeper understanding of the UK Institutional market and how asset managers can effectively communicate, influence and engage with this audience.

UKIMS focuses on the views and behaviours of pension investment decision makers and influencers: investment consultants, scheme managers, chairs of trustees, pension fund CIOs, pension fund CEOs, trustees and professional trustees.

UKIMS captures a snapshot of industry views on current trends in the UK investment management industry across a wide variety of topical themes and subjects. To qualify as a participant, those surveyed or spoken with must be able to detail their involvement in the investment decision making process for a pension scheme. We ensure a range of views are captured including defined benefit schemes, defined contribution schemes, local government pension schemes (LGPS) and master trusts, as well as many of the large investment consultancies.

The quantitative element surveys 200+ individuals, with fieldwork taking place in the Autumn from October onwards, which is consistent with the timings of past waves. The findings provide a detailed overview of the market, important contextual findings relevant to topical themes and the ability to track trends versus past waves of research.

The qualitative element for the upcoming wave of research will take the form of an online community, where investment managers can submit marketing materials, articles, webpages or videos to test among a small group of highly engaged institutional investors. This type of research allows direct and informative feedback on materials, ensuring all feedback is as actionable as possible. Online community research is also a fantastic way of understanding the specific challenges of investors in this market, what appeals to them and what can convince them to consider you as a potential investment manager to work with.

Wave 9 of the UKIMS quantitative study launches in Autumn 2023 – for more information contact Jack Dominy.