As the asset management industry enters 2026, the rules of competition are shifting. Growth is moderating, investors are more segmented, and the path to scale is less straightforward than it once was. Success increasingly depends on how well firms connect strategy, insight, and execution.
In a recent conversation with Asset TV, Marc Barrachin, CFA, and Adam Feldstein shared perspectives on the trends that shaped 2025 and the forces now redefining what it takes to compete. Here are a few key takeaways from their conversation.
Change Is No Longer Linear
Technology continues to act as a powerful accelerator across the industry. Advances in data, analytics, and automation are reshaping not only how asset managers operate, but how advisors and investors expect to engage.
At the same time, the pace of change is compressing decision cycles. Firms are being asked to make bigger bets with greater confidence, often amid elevated macro uncertainty. In this environment, having connected, actionable market intelligence has become a strategic necessity rather than a support function.
Demographics Are Driving Two Very Different Growth Stories
The industry is managing a demographic barbell.
On one end, a large population of older investors holds the majority of assets and is increasingly focused on income, preservation, and wealth transfer. On the other, a younger cohort—still early in asset accumulation—represents the next wave of growth, with very different expectations around access, digital engagement, and personalization.
Serving both effectively requires asset managers to think differently about product design, service models, and distribution, often at the same time.
Macro Uncertainty Is Forcing Strategic Focus
Markets continue to be shaped by uncertainty: geopolitical risk, policy shifts, and uneven economic growth across regions. While asset levels have increased, much of that growth has been driven by market performance rather than sustained net inflows.
These conditions are reinforcing trends toward consolidation and concentration, both among asset managers and within advisor platforms. The competitive landscape is becoming more crowded at the top, while differentiation elsewhere requires sharper positioning and smarter resource allocation.
Product Strategy Now Depends on Context
While product innovation remains active, the conversation has evolved. It is no longer enough to focus on how a fund or ETF compares to its own category. How it competes within specific intermediary platforms and advisor environments is now just as important – if not more so.
Increasingly, asset managers are using more granular data—such as 13F filings data, which is integrated into our MarketPulse platform—to understand competitive dynamics at the platform level. This allows firms to see how products are positioned within a given intermediary, how they compare on performance and fees, and how they fit into real-world portfolios.
This level of transparency is helping product, sales, and national accounts teams align around where true competitive advantages exist; and where they do not.
Distribution Has Become a Precision Exercise
Distribution remains one of the most complex challenges facing asset managers today.
Advisor behavior varies significantly by channel, with different preferences for vehicles, fee structures, and portfolio construction approaches. Broad assumptions are giving way to more segmented, data-informed strategies.
By combining advisor research, platform intelligence, and competitive benchmarking, firms are better equipped to tailor conversations, prioritize opportunities, and deploy resources more effectively across channels.
Strategy Requires a Global View
As asset managers expand across borders, product and distribution strategies must be evaluated in a global context.
What works in one market does not automatically translate to another. Differences in regulation, advisor structures, and investor behavior mean firms must adapt their approach by region. Our global research reports available to MarketSage subscribers are increasingly used by firms as inputs into strategic planning.
These tools are helping today’s industry leaders, innovators and decision makers assess where demand is emerging, how markets are evolving, and where investment is most likely to generate long-term returns.
Retirement and Private Markets Add New Layers
Retirement continues to be a foundational opportunity, with certain investment structures playing a central role in defined contribution plans. At the same time, the potential expansion of private market access into the retail channel adds another layer of complexity, raising new questions around education, suitability, and delivery. These areas highlight the need for clear insight into how products, vehicles, and investor needs intersect.
Looking Ahead
Moving forward, the industry is unlikely to be transformed by a single trend. Instead, existing forces —technology, demographics, product evolution, and distribution complexity—are expected to intensify.
The firms best positioned for what comes next will be those that take a connected approach to strategy, combining data, research, and market insight to make more confident decisions in an increasingly fragmented environment.
Asset management’s next chapter will be defined less by rapid expansion and more by strategic clarity.
For firms navigating where to compete, how to grow, and how to serve a more diverse investor base, the ability to translate market intelligence into action is becoming a defining advantage. That is where insight, context, and execution come together.
Ready to turn insight into action? Contact us today to start the conversation.
