Trending Themes in Asset and Wealth Management
- Global Wealth Transfer Wave Puts Advisors at Existential Risk - A massive $83T global wealth transfer is reshaping client expectations and triggering significant asset attrition risk for advisors, forcing wealth managers to urgently reinvent engagement, products, and advisory models to retain next-generation clients
- From Savings to Income: The Rise of Retirement Income Frameworks and Guaranteed Solutions - The retirement industry is rapidly pivoting from accumulation to income generation, with strong sponsor demand and product innovation driving widespread adoption of structured frameworks and annuity-based solutions to deliver guaranteed retirement income
- Stablecoins Emerging as a New Liquidity Backbone in Asset Management - Stablecoins are rapidly emerging as a core, regulated liquidity and settlement layer in asset management, with growing institutional adoption driving their integration into portfolio infrastructure, fund operations, and tokenized investment strategies
These interconnected trends underscore a dynamic environment where evolving client expectations, a focus on comprehensive service, and a fundamental shift in investment vehicle preferences are collectively shaping the opportunities and challenges for Asset and Wealth Management firms aiming for future growth. This collective evolution signals a profound transformation across the sector, pushing firms to rethink traditional models and embrace new approaches to remain competitive and relevant
Global Wealth Transfer Wave Puts Advisors at Existential Risk
Introduction
A historic intergenerational wealth shift is underway, with profound implications for the advisory industry
- According to UBS (Global Next Generation report, May’26), an estimated $83T will pass across generations globally over the next two decades (Sample population: 170 responses with the next generation of inheritors, leaders and founders)
- This wealth is globally distributed, led by Europe (49%), , followed by North America (19%), Latin America (16%), Asia-Pacific (11%), Middle East and Africa (5%)
- Wealth transfer is not merely financial - It is a shift in stewardship and mindset
- 40% of next‑generation inheritors increasingly see wealth as a responsibility to steward family legacy, not a personal windfall
- Regional differences remain: In APAC and Latin America, wealth transfer is more often linked to the passing of a family member (~60%), while in Europe and North America it is framed as responsibility, rising to 67% in North America
Setting the Context: Intergenerational wealth transfer represents a material and immediate risk to advisor-led asset retention:
- The advice business is ripe for disruption as wealth beneficiaries decide who will manage the inherited assets: their parents’ advisor, their own advisor, or a new advisor altogether
- The financial impact is material -- 46% of advisors view generational wealth transfer as an existential threat, with nearly one‑third already losing assets to generational attrition (Global Natixis Survey, Apr’26; Sample Population: 2,700 respondents across 19 countries)
- Client loyalty is resetting with 55% of next‑generation heirs planning to leave their benefactor’s advisor, driven by differing expectations especially among Millennials, who show stronger preference for private assets, ETFs, and digital advice models
Industry Response & Adaptation: Wealth managers globally are recalibrating strategies, products, and engagement models to retain relevance and assets across generations
- UBS (May’26): Positioned the great wealth transfer as a tremendous business opportunity with Asia being one of its top priority markets
- Indosuez, the wealth management subsidiary of France’s 2nd largest bank, Crédit Agricole (May’26): Launched a new range of active ETFs specifically focused on next generation of inheritors and professional investors
- NBK Wealth, a subsidiary of the National Bank of Kuwait (Feb’26): Recognized globally for its Generation W program, reflecting success in building long-term engagement with next-generation HNW clients
Evalueserve Perspective
To navigate this generational reset, wealth managers must institutionalize next-gen engagement as a strategic priority:
- Make family engagement non-negotiable: Move beyond single-client relationships to multi-generational coverage, engaging heirs early through structured interactions, education, and planning
- Redesign services for next-gen preferences: From sustainable investments to tech-enabled advice models, wealth firms must adapt offerings to reflect younger investors’ values and preferences
- Reinvent the advisor value proposition: Shift from transactional advice to holistic, purpose-driven advisory, including legacy planning, impact investing, and values-based wealth structuring
From Savings to Income: The Rise of Retirement Income Frameworks and Guaranteed Solutions
Introduction
Defined contribution (DC) plans are shifting from asset accumulation toward decumulation and the establishment of reliable sources of guaranteed income. Rising life expectancy, concerns regarding Social Security adequacy, and the steady decline of traditional DB pensions are prompting plan sponsors to rethink retirement outcomes.
- Momentum is rapidly building around embedding guaranteed lifetime income solutions, such as in-plan annuities, directly into workplace DC plans
- Employers, policymakers, and industry bodies are exploring structured frameworks to help evaluate and integrate retirement income products into plan design
Setting the Context: Strong sponsor demand and rapid product innovation are driving a structural shift in DC plan design.
- 90% of plan sponsors view retirement income as the core objective of DC plans, according to MetLife’s poll. More than half (54%) of employers support legislation requiring 401(k) plans to default a portion of participant savings into guaranteed income products
- Adoption of annuity-integrated solutions is accelerating. Assets in multi-asset portfolios with in-plan annuities exceeded $115B at the end of March 2026(+~150% from March 2024), while annuity-enabled target-date strategies reached $44B (+~75% growth YoY)
Industry Response & Adaptation: Retirement industry associations and major players are responding proactively to this shift by establishing structured frameworks and expanding adoption of guaranteed income solutions.
- IRIC & SPARK Institute (Apr’26): Launched a comprehensive ‘DC Retirement Income Solutions Framework’ to help plan sponsors, advisors, and fiduciaries evaluate and compare retirement income offerings
- Equitable (Apr’26): Introduced a five-step fiduciary framework guiding plan sponsors in assessing in-plan guaranteed and non-guaranteed income solutions
- TIAA & Nuveen (Feb’26): Announced adoption of lifetime income target-date solutions across 1,000 employers spanning corporate, education, healthcare, and government sectors, underscoring growing institutional acceptance
Evalueserve Perspective
Plan sponsors and providers need to proactively adopt structured income frameworks and expand their offerings to remain competitive.
- Leverage industry frameworks to evaluate offerings: Utilize frameworks to assess and benchmark lifetime income solutions, ensuring fiduciary alignment and mitigating regulatory risk
- Expand solution architecture with annuity-integrated strategies: Integrate in-plan annuities, target-date funds with embedded annuity and decumulation-focused solutions to address participant’s income needs
- Strengthen partnerships: Strategic collaborations between recordkeepers, asset managers, and insurers can accelerate the development of scalable and cost-efficient lifetime income solutions
Stablecoins Emerging as a New Liquidity Backbone in Asset Management
Introduction
Stablecoins – digital assets pegged to fiat currencies and backed by liquid reserves -- are rapidly evolving into a programmable cash layer within investment ecosystems.
While initially used to manage liquidity in crypto markets, stablecoins are now gaining traction in mainstream asset management, supporting functions such as liquidity management, fund settlement, and enabling tokenized investments:
- A May 2026 CoinDesk analysis highlights that stablecoins are shifting from crypto-native tools to core payment infrastructure, particularly across B2B payments and treasury operations
- Stablecoin market capitalization reached ~$321B (Apr’26), driven by sustained inflows and their growing role as a liquidity and capital preservation layer in stable market conditions, as per CoinDesk Stablecoins & Tokenized Assets Report (Apr’26)
Setting the Context: Stablecoins are evolving into core liquidity and settlement infrastructure within asset management, supported by scale, institutionalization, and broader use cases:
- Rapid scale and market maturity: Stablecoin supply has surpassed $300B, reinforcing their role as digital cash equivalents, as highlighted in Coin Telegraph’s market analysis (May’26)
- Shift to capital markets infrastructure: Stablecoins are increasingly described as “foundational financial infrastructure,” supported by ~$33T in transaction volume, according to Morph’s State of Stablecoins report (Mar’26)
- Expansion into treasury and operational workflows: Their use is expanding across payments, settlement, and treasury operations to support liquidity management and cross-border flows—an emerging trend noted in ESCA Finance’s report on stablecoin and crypto adoption (Mar’26)
- Institutional push toward regulated integration: Integration into regulated issuance, custody, and settlement frameworks is accelerating, with S&P Global Research (Feb’26) highlighting the race to build stablecoin-based banking infrastructure
- Regulatory clarity accelerating adoption: Frameworks such as the GENIUS Act (U.S. federal law), MiCA (European Union regulation), and Hong Kong Stablecoin Ordinance (Hong Kong regulation) are accelerating institutional adoption
Together, these trends position stablecoins as a programmable liquidity layer embedded in portfolio construction and fund operations
Industry Response & Adaptation: Asset managers are actively embedding stablecoins into both product structures and operational workflows:
- J.P. Morgan Asset Management (May’26): Launched a tokenized money market fund on Ethereum, enabling subscriptions/redemptions via cash and stablecoins while investing in U.S. Treasuries—linking stablecoins with fund liquidity
- Morgan Stanley Investment Management (Apr’26): Introduced a stablecoin reserves portfolio to meet rising demand for managing backing assets
- Fidelity Investments (Feb’26): Launched Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), positioning stablecoins as digital cash instruments for retail and institutional investors
Evalueserve Perspective
To capitalize on this structural shift, asset managers need to move beyond experimentation and institutionalize stablecoin adoption:
- Embed stablecoins as core portfolio infrastructure: Treat them as programmable cash equivalents for real-time liquidity management and efficient capital deployment
- Scale tokenized products and strategies: Develop tokenized funds, stablecoin reserve strategies, and digital cash offerings aligned with institutional demand
- Optimize settlement and operational efficiency: Use stablecoins to enable faster fund flows, streamline subscriptions/redemptions, and enhance collateral mobility
- Strengthen ecosystem integration and trust: Build partnerships across custodians, fintechs, and blockchain platforms, while ensuring compliance, reserve transparency, and investor confidence
