UK assets under management set to hit £16trn by 2030

• New PwC report projects UK assets under management growth from £12trn to £16trn by 2030, as a US$67bn European revenue prize emerges for firms bold enough to seize it

UK assets under management (AuM) are on course to grow from £12trn in 2024 to £16trn by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8%, according to a new report from PwC on the future of Europe’s asset and wealth management (AWM) industry.

The report, Asset and Wealth Management Revolution: A New Playbook for Profitable Growth, identifies a US$67bn revenue opportunity emerging across Europe by 2030 (total revenues of US$230.6bn, up from US$163.9bn in 2024). But it warns that this prize will not be distributed evenly, and that the strategies that drove growth in the 2010s are rapidly becoming obsolete.

Key figures at a glance (base case projections)

•  UK managed AuM:  £12.1trn (2024) → £16trn (2030) | CAGR: 4.8% %

• UK (domiciled funds) US$5.9trn (2024)  → US$7.1trn (2030) CAGR 3.1%

•  European (domiciled) AuM: US$35trn (2024) → US$48.5trn (2030) | CAGR: 5.6%

•  New European revenues up for grabs by 2030: US$67bn

•  Total European revenues: US$163.9bn (2024) → US$230.6bn (2030)

•  Private markets revenues by 2030: US$105.2bn

•  Active investment revenues by 2030: US$113.5bn

•  European ETF AuM CAGR through to 2030: 13.1%

The UK: a front-runner in Europe’s AWM revolution

According to the report, the United Kingdom is emerging as one of the most dynamic markets in Europe’s AWM transformation. Sweeping pension reform, regulatory innovation, and the rapid growth of platform-led wealth distribution are all positioning the UK to capture a significant share of the decade’s growth.

Recent UK pension reforms are making it easier for defined benefit schemes to remain invested for longer and to increase allocations into higher-returning private assets. At the same time, defined contribution master trusts are steadily increasing allocations into alternatives and private markets as they seek to improve long-term retirement outcomes.

The UK’s Long-Term Asset Fund (LTAF) framework is spearheading wider retail access to private markets, a shift PwC identifies as one of the most significant structural changes reshaping the industry. With 43% of European asset managers citing the democratisation of private markets as a top revenue growth driver, the UK’s regulatory architecture is well ahead of much of continental Europe.

The report also highlights the UK’s evolving targeted support regime, which could reshape access to investment markets at scale by lowering barriers between guidance and regulated advice, opening opportunities to engage mass affluent investors who have historically fallen into the advice gap created by the Retail Distribution Review.

Alongside the Digital Securities Sandbox, recent FCA measures on fund tokenisation are reinforcing the UK's position as one of the leading markets for tokenised fund innovation. The report finds that 45% of European asset managers now identify tokenised assets as a future revenue growth priority.

US$67bn up for grabs — but the old playbook Is outdated

Despite a resurgent growth outlook, the report delivers a stark warning: more than nine out of ten European asset managers (93%) have experienced profitability pressure over the past five years, which 57% described as high, and 35% as very high.

Fee compression remains relentless, with 75% of firms having already reduced fees to remain competitive, while regulatory and operating costs continue to rise. The result is that AWM organisations are earning less and less for every pound under management.

Private markets revenues (US$105.2bn projected by 2030) are rapidly closing in on active investment revenues (US$113.5bn), signalling a structural rebalancing of where value will be created. Meanwhile, European ETF AuM is projected to grow at a CAGR of 13.1% through to 2030, far outpacing active investments at 3.1%, as ETFs become the first port of call for younger and mass affluent investors.

Underpinning all of this, the report highlights, is a vast, largely untapped commercial prize: more than €10trn sitting in European bank deposits. Europe’s AWM organisations currently manage less than 40% of the region’s client assets, compared to nearly 60% in North America. Retail equity fund participation in Europe stands at just 18%, versus 55% in the US.

Albertha Charles, Asset &Wealth Management Leader, PwC UK and Global, said:

“The European AWM industry is resurgent. But AuM growth and profitability are increasingly decoupling. The firms that will capture the US$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.”

Technology and Distribution: The New Competitive Battleground

The report identifies technology and control of distribution as the two defining competitive battlegrounds of the decade. More than 80% of European asset managers are adopting AI and automation as part of their cost-efficiency strategy over the next five years, while 68% of institutional investors say they prefer to allocate capital to managers developing technology capabilities for enhanced products and services.

The report also highlights the growing strategic importance of distribution. As control of client relationships and investor flows becomes increasingly valuable, firms are investing more heavily in advice, engagement and distribution capabilities. In the UK, continued private equity investment into advice businesses and initiatives such as the Investment Association's Take the Next Step campaign reflect this shift.

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Notes to Editors 

About the Report

Asset and Wealth Management Revolution: A New Playbook for Profitable Growth is PwC’s European regional report for 2026, part of the firm’s ongoing AWM Revolution series. It draws on proprietary market data, financial modelling, and survey research across European asset and wealth managers and institutional investors to forecast market trends through to 2030. All figures cited are base case projections.