Twenty of the world's biggest asset managers at the end of last year, as measured by investment consultant Watson Wyatt's annual ranking and published today, are now in throes of consolidation. The upheaval is more evidence of the shifts rippling across the industry.

Watson Wyatt's survey, which is published in association with the US trade newspaper Pensions & Investments, showed these 20 leading firms lost a combined $5.6 trillion (€3.8 trillion) last year as the markets tumbled. At December 31, they had $26.7 trillion under management, 17% less than 12 months before.