CNS AR24 Digital - Book - Page 28
portfolios, may require us to adapt our strategy, business and operations to address these trends and pressures. Our
competitive position may weaken if we are unable to meet these client priorities.
Our actively managed investment strategies compete not only against other active strategies but also against similarly
positioned passive strategies. Market demand for index funds and other passive strategies, and the broad availability of
investment options to meet these demands, reduces opportunities for active managers and may contribute to fee compression.
In the event that competitors charge lower fees for substantially similar products, we may be forced to compete on the basis
of price to attract and retain clients. In order to maintain our current fee structure in a competitive environment, we must be
able to provide clients with investment returns and service commensurate with the level of fees we charge. To the extent
current or potential clients decide to invest in products sponsored by our competitors, the sales of our products as well as our
market share, revenue and net income could decline.
The inability to access clients through third-party intermediaries could have a material adverse effect on our
business.
A significant portion of the assets we manage is attributable to the distribution of our products through third-party
intermediaries. Distribution through such intermediaries may also be integral to the launch and sustained growth of new
investment products and strategies. Our ability to distribute our products is highly dependent on access to the client bases and
product platforms of international, national and regional securities firms, investment advisory firms, banks, insurance
companies, defined contribution plan administrators and other intermediaries, which generally offer competing investment
products that could limit the distribution of our products. In recent years, a growing number of these organizations have
enhanced their scrutiny of the products available or proposed to be made available on their platforms in connection with
various investment strategies, which has in many cases significantly reduced the number of products and asset managers on
such platforms. These organizations may also require that we or our products have established, long-term investment
