Could it be that Jupiter is paving the way for floatation and, if so, would it really be such a wise move? The last of its peers to follow this route was Gartmore, though its offering can hardly have been said to have been taken up with much enthusiasm. Gartmore was eventually priced at 220p per share, down from an initial target price of between 250p and 330p. As at 5 March, shares were trading at the 188p mark.

Jupiter arguably has a greater talent pool than Gartmore. Led by Edward Bonham Carter, it is majority owned by its fund managers, including the recently-promoted chief investment officer John Chatfeild-Roberts. Its sturdy, varied fund range is managed by a line up of well-established luminaries such as Philip Gibbs, Tony Nutt, Philip Ehrmann and recent re-hire Guy de Blonay.

They may be proven experts in finding fair value in stocks, but pricing their own worth could be a far greater challenge. It’s one thing deciding whether or not to list their business, but another to do it the right way.

“Jupiter is a cracking business, and it’s probably a good time now to float and get external investors on board,” says Justin Urquhart Stewart, marketing director at Seven Investment Management.

“The valuations would be quite reasonable, the market is up a bit so it’s probably quite a good time to use capital to expand your base and maybe even go on the acquisition trail or into other markets.”

As discussed by Helen Burggraf in the March edition of Portfolio Adviser, some experts are predicting that top-line corporate activity in the European funds industry is likely to continue at a fast pace over the next few years, even if there is not much cash readily available to pursue deals.

In general terms, UK fund houses appear to be in reasonably good shape though, says Urquhart Stewart, some of the older groups with high cost bases and perceived poor distribution have been seen as rather tired brands which have been unable to revitalise themselves.

“The younger boutiques, such as Jupiter, tend to be more innovative. In a world where we’re screwing down costs and client charges to make them more reasonable, the margins are being squeezed so those companies with older overheads dating back 10 or 15 years will find themselves in a worse position than the younger groups that have tailored themselves for a leaner, meaner decade.”