Private markets to account for half of global asset management revenues by 2030
Private markets are expected to account for more than half of the global asset management industry’s revenues by 2030, according to a new report.
Assets under management (AUM) are expected to surge from $139tn (£106tn) in 2024 to $200tn by 2030, at a CAGR of 6.2 per cent, according to PWC’s Global Asset & Wealth Management Report, which surveyed 300 asset managers, institutional investors and distributors from 19 countries and 10 territories.
This will see it delivering over half of the total asset management industry’s revenues by the end of the decade.
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But while the report found that revenues are rising, it also found asset managers continue to face profitability pressures and narrowing margins amid relentless competition, fee pressure, a premium on talent.
Around 89 per cent of asset managers reported profitability pressure over the past five years, with PwC analysis finding that profit per AUM is down 19 per cent since 2018, with a further market-wide 9 per cent decline expected by 2030.
Almost three fifths of institutional investors also said they are likely (41 per cent) or very likely (16 per cent) to replace managers purely due to high fees.
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“Asset managers are evolving in the Intelligence Age, as new technologies – from Generative AI to Agentic AI – re-shape how value is created and delivered,” said Albertha Charles, global asset & wealth management leader at PwC UK.
“The winners won’t be those who gather the most assets, but those who rewire fastest, translating innovation into digital ecosystems that serve more diverse investors, more personally and efficiently than ever before.”
PWC found that North America will remain the dominant market for global AUM and will grow at a CAGR of 6.2 per cent, but Asia-Pacific is projected to grow fastest, while Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and Europe are also expanding.
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