It’s official: independence is a key attribute for asset managers. The combination of BlackRock and Barclays Global Investors, announced last Friday, was driven as much by this consideration as by Barclays’ need for cash to strengthen its capital base, according to Bob Diamond, president of Barclays Bank and chairman of Barclays Global Investors.

Clients want open architecture, he says, by which he means they want access to products from a range of asset managers rather than being confined to one manager’s offering. The structure of the asset management business is evolving, and “emphasis is increasingly placed on the independence of the value chain”.