Research
How Asset Manager Priorities Are Shifting
Firms are increasingly focusing on their core product offerings, according to a survey from Northern Trust, with more than 28% reporting their firm plans to reduce its product set.
Reported by Matt Toledo
The asset management industry is evolving as client needs shift and industry headwinds put pressure on costs. A new white paper from Northern Trust—surveying 300 senior executives of asset management firms—explored how manager priorities have shifted over the last two years. The survey found that managers are focusing on the core products that they know best and are, accordingly, looking to reduce the range of products they offer.
In Northern Trust’s 2024 survey of asset managers, 60% cited expanding their product set as a key strategic priority for the next two years. In 2026, that number fell to 47%, while the percentage of asset managers reporting that their firm is looking to reduce their product set has risen to 28% in 2026 from 5% in 2024.
“The real thematic things that came out of the survey from our perspective was that asset managers are really focusing on where they create differentiated value and where they may be relying on partnerships or a trusted partner,” says Ryan Burns, Northern Trust’s head of global fund services in the Americas.
The survey also found that cost and return on investment concerns were managers’ top apprehensions regarding launching new products, at 59%, followed by the changing regulatory environment (46%), operating-model limitations (46%), data sourcing (45%), the changing market structure (42%) and lacking market expertise (36%).
Costs have risen hand in hand with increasing fee compression and asset manager competition. To get costs under control, Burns says 69% of respondents said they plan to offshore roles, a massive increase from the 6% that reported offshoring plans in 2024.
To help cut costs, asset managers also reported looking to automating operations (52%), outsourcing non-core activities (42%), rationalizing product (41%), and consolidating systems (32%).
Distribution Evolves
Approximately 54% of surveyed managers reported plans to target new client types—including those in wealth and retail channels—to increase distribution, while 53% said they aim to enter new global markets. Northern Trust suggested that firms prefer to drive growth by engaging new client segments, rather than by increasing the number of products that they offer.
“Two years ago, there was a focus on the investor experience that really jumped off the page, and I think that went hand in hand with looking at growth in the products that they make available, probably looking to provide more to the same client,” Burns says. “We saw that that decline [in 2026] in the investor experience a bit, with a focus toward quality and accuracy on a more finite product set.”
The report also noted that as allocations from investors shift toward alternative asset classes, asset managers need to first consider whether they have the right products and structures to serve the investors they want to reach, then add something new.
“The fact that new product launches were not among the top respondent priorities also reinforces an important point: Asset managers appear to be more focused on taking products that have already proven successful and bringing them into new countries or channels, rather than simply adding another product offering,” the report stated.