Why European Wealth and Asset Managers Must Rethink Their Strategy
The European wealth and asset management industry in 2025 stands at a crossroads. With the pressure of geopolitical instability, market volatility, and high-interest rate environments, industry players must evolve rapidly to remain competitive. As client expectations shift and digital transformation accelerates, wealth and asset managers must develop a future-ready blueprint that aligns with new realities, leverages innovation, and unlocks the power of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain.
To help firms navigate this evolving landscape, EY released a list of the top 10 global resolutions for asset and wealth managers in 2025. For European financial services firms, three critical focus areas stand out:
1.Pivot Business Models and Build Resilience to Stay Competitive
To survive in a disrupted ecosystem, European asset managers must embrace business model transformation. This involves:
- Forming strategic partnerships to expand offerings
- Outsourcing non-core services to reduce costs and improve access to global talent
- Consolidating overlapping parts of the value chain for efficiency
- Balancing digital innovation with robust operational risk management
A key regulatory example is the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which has been in effect since January 17, 2025. DORA mandates firms to maintain detailed records of third-party ICT (information and communications technology) arrangements, reinforcing the need for regulatory readiness and cyber resilience.
Drive Product Innovation Through Digital Assets and Tokenization
The surge in demand for alternative investments and tokenized assets is reshaping investor behavior. Both institutional and private clients increasingly seek exposure to crypto assets, blockchain-based investments, and tokenized real-world assets.
Forward-looking regulators like Switzerland’s FINMA and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are leading efforts to provide a regulatory framework for digital assets, distinguishing between payment tokens, utility tokens, and security tokens. This shift opens new doors for asset managers to:
- Expand product lines with digital wrappers and tokens
- Offer digital custody services and compliance tools
- Launch blockchain-native financial instruments
Firms must evaluate their blockchain infrastructure readiness and understand the implications across the entire value chain—from custody and fund administration to client onboarding and reporting.
Modernize Data Capabilities to Harness the Power of AI and Generative AI
The EY 2024 European Financial Services AI Survey revealed that 63% of wealth and asset managers believe GenAI will enhance customer experience, streamline operations, and enable hyper-personalized engagement.
Yet, challenges remain:
- Only 90% of firms have partially adopted AI
- 36% feel they are lagging behind their peers
- Just 25% have launched upskilling programs for GenAI
To unlock AI’s full potential, firms need to modernize their data infrastructure, implement ethical AI frameworks, and focus on employee training. Whether starting with small AI pilots or full-scale deployments, firms must prioritize agility and scalability to stay ahead.
Navigating Change with Confidence: The Talent and Culture Imperative
Strategic change is not just about technology—it’s about people. The most successful wealth and asset management firms in Europe will be those that:
- Align their workforce with firm values and future vision
- Collaborate with best-in-class partners
- Build resilient operations ready for economic and regulatory shifts
In a time of compressed margins and industry consolidation, leadership teams must foster innovation, promote adaptability, and double down on execution.
Summary: European Asset Managers Must Act Now to Build Future-Ready Strategies
To thrive in 2025 and beyond, European wealth and asset managers must focus on three imperatives:
- Adapt to new economic and operational realities
- Accelerate product innovation through digital assets and tokenization
- Modernize data strategies to enable AI and technological disruption
The race is on—and firms that fail to act risk falling behind in a fiercely competitive marketplace.
