Are you currently weighing up your options for asset management in Cheshire? New figures have revealed that assets managed in the UK, on behalf of overseas clients, now make up over 50% of the market.
The data, compiled by the Investment Association, found that those assets comprise £5.1 trillion in Assets Under Management (AUM). This reflects a general trend over the last 10 years in which overseas client assets have grown at a far faster rate than UK client assets. It is useful to view the data by geography to see the contrast between different global regions.
Currently, 59% of overseas AUM are European client assets. These are now worth £3 trillion, a 20% increase year on year. Following behind are £990 billion of assets managed by UK investment managers for North American investors and £740 billion for Asia-Pacific clients. Interestingly, the fastest growing assets in 2024 were those managed for Latin American clients, which rose by 40% to £70 billion.
Of the £4.9 trillion in assets stored in UK investment funds, 69% are domiciled overseas, mostly in Ireland, which now accounts for over 50% of UK-managed overseas fund assets. AUM reached a record £10 trillion in 2024, representing a 10% increase on the previous year, when it stood at £9.1 trillion.
Broken down by sector, assets managed on behalf of retail investors increased to 28% in 2024 and, for the first time, overtook pension funds, which took a 27% share. The decline in pension assets, down from 45% of total AUM in 2018, has been attributed to the number of defined benefits schemes coming to an end.
