The UK is emerging as one of the most dynamic markets in the European asset and wealth management space, with its assets under management (AUM) expected to grow from £12trn in 2024 to £16trn by 2030, according to PwC.
PwC’s Asset and Wealth Management Revolution: A New Playbook for Profitable Growth report identified a $67bn revenue opportunity emerging in Europe, with total revenues set to rise from $163.9bn in 2024 to $230.6bn by 2030.
However, this opportunity was unlikely to be distributed evenly, the firm noted, with strategies that drove growth in the 2010s “rapidly becoming obsolete”.
UK wealth and asset management AUM was forecast to rise from £12.1trn in 2024 to £16trn in 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8%.
Its status as one of the most dynamic asset and wealth management markets was being driven by sweeping pension reform, regulatory innovation, and the growth of platform-led wealth distribution, according to the report.
PwC noted that pension reforms were making it easier for UK defined benefit schemes to remain invested for longer and increase allocations to private assets, while defined contribution master trusts were increasing allocations to alternatives and private markets.
Furthermore, the UK’s long-term asset fund (LTAF) framework was “spearheading” wider retail access to private markets, which PwC said was one of the most significant structural changes reshaping the industry.
The targeted support regime was also found to be providing opportunities to engage mass affluent investors who had historically fallen into the advice gap.
“The European asset and wealth management industry is resurgent,” commented PwC UK and global asset & wealth management leader, Albertha Charles.
“But AUM growth and profitability are increasingly decoupling. The firms that will capture the $67bn revenue prize are those willing to fundamentally rethink where and how they compete, from distribution and wealth ecosystems to private markets retailisation and transformative technology.
“Nowhere is this shift more visible and more advanced than in the UK.”
PwC’s report also highlighted the growing importance of distribution, with control of client relationships and investor flows becoming increasingly valuable.
This was resulting in firms investing more heavily in advice, engagement, and distribution capabilities, with continued private equity investment into advice businesses in the UK reflecting this shift.
