Homegrown Asian asset managers will find it tough to go beyond their markets within Asia amid competition with global players that have established a foothold in markets across Asia, says research firm Cerrulli Associates.

"Global players are well ahead of the game and will be hard to dislodge. Their positions will be further reinforced if investors in secular markets such as Korea and India start thinking about investing in overseas strategies. It will be the global players who can best deliver such strategies," Cerrulli says.

Asian asset managers have been making moves to expand their business beyond their home markets in recent years. However, while Asian brands have made significant progress internationally in the auto and technology sectors, the same cannot be said for the asset management industry.

Cerrulli cites Korea's Mirae Asset Global Investments, the largest asset manager in the country, as an example.

''It has been trying to develop a pan-Asian footprint longer than most, starting as far back as 2003 with the opening of its Hong Kong office. The company has also made forays into India, China, and Taiwan. However, its efforts to gather assets across the region have hitherto yielded unspectacular results,'' says Cerrulli.

While Cerulli reckons that Mirae Asset did its homework and the necessary preparation, the firm has been hit by setbacks that make its pan-Asian status seem quite hollow at present. It represents a cautionary tale for Asian asset managers seeking to develop a pan-Asian presence.

At present, it has been the likes of Fidelity, J.P. Morgan, and Franklin Templeton that have been able to adapt well to the fragmented Asian markets and successfully establish presence across the region.