Fund managers will have to work harder to achieve strong returns for their clients as the US Federal Reserve begins to scale back its quantitative easing measures, senior industry members warn.

Speaking at a panel discussion on central banks at FundForum International 2013, executives at the helm of some of the world's largest asset managers said the market's violent reaction to chairman of the US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke's comments last week that the US would begin to taper its bond-buying programme had underscored the market's reliance on cheap money.