Consolidation firmly takes hold as scale takes centre stage

Asset and wealth managers have entered 2021 after a stressful year dealing with COVID-19’s many shocks and aftereffects. As executives responded to significant market disruptions, an underlying industry theme around building assets under management (AUM) scale through partnerships and M&A activity took a firm hold.

Firms looked to grow AUM quickly by sealing new partnerships and exploring M&A options. We observed a flurry of transactions and restructurings in the sector, with several large transactions announced. Asset and wealth managers accelerated their focus towards defining and moving towards a new target operating model, one where scale ambitions plays a central role.

A&M’s Financial Services team’s latest report analysis how asset and wealth managers have accelerated a drive towards scale, making the year 2020 the beginning of a significant consolidation cycle.