Issue Wealth and asset management: concentration rises as margins thin

Summary

Assets under management keep growing, and the biggest wealth and asset managers are capturing an ever larger share. The top 20 firms held 47% of global assets under management in 2024, up from 45.5% a year earlier. Yet costs are rising quickly and operating margins across the industry remain thin. In response, firms are rebalancing portfolios, exiting non-core businesses and forming large partnerships across private equity, asset management, insurance and wealth to gain scale and reach faster-growing segments. EY suggests that their moves into new client groups, faster-growing regions and private markets could fit a rebalanced capitalism in which capital is spread more widely.