Separation of asset management and distribution to continue

There's a growing trend for banks that control distribution in continental Europe and Asia to split their asset management arms from their distribution units and focus more on their core business, says Laurent Ramsey, Geneva-based chief executive of Pictet Funds. And while in the midst of the crisis some firms became more selective in terms of where they source their products from, he says, that won't last long. "It's true that, short-term, some groups have closed their gates a bit …