What actually sets asset managers apart in 2026 (Hint: it’s not just performance)
Asset managers facing fee compression and looking for ways to protect margins might want to take a look at a report from Coalition Greenwich, a data analytics company offering insights to banks, asset managers and fintechs. Coalition Greenwich’s report, Asset Management 2026: A laser focus on profitability, notes that while AUM keeps growing, profitability has plateaued. Despite this headline conclusion, the report offers promising takeaways for asset managers.
One key point is that institutional investors don't select managers strictly on performance. They gravitate toward managers who demonstrate value-added capabilities beyond pure investment management and toward well-established brand names. Differentiation, customization, and yes, strong communications are ways asset managers can stand out.
What does differentiation actually look like?
Here the research outlines specific findings on what asset owners prioritize:
- Investment track record still matters most, but firms can differentiate through thought leadership, client service, and communication. They want managers who provide value beyond performance.
- Asset owners place high value on a manager's willingness to customize offerings to meet specific needs.
- A commitment to knowledge transfer — through thought leadership, market commentary, proprietary research, direct access to the investment team’s thinking.
Investing in relationships and education
Asset managers benefit from being viewed as a strategic partner. They are favored with additional mandates, access to senior decision makers and extra time to address underperformance, including roughly 30% who give an extra year before review. That's a concrete business case for investing in relationship and communications strategy — it buys real runway.
How can asset managers capitalize on these findings? Here are several practical steps to take:
- Audit your thought leadership output. Is it generic, or does it demonstrate proprietary insight your competitors can't easily replicate?
- Treat knowledge transfer as a service line, not a marketing afterthought (webinars, direct research access, portfolio manager access and engagement).
- Develop deeper connections by investing in client experience touchpoints beyond performance reporting.
- Get disciplined about where you can credibly claim differentiation across all three client levers (track record, thought leadership, service).
- While track records can ebb and flow, invest in consistent value added content and customized service. Both can be consistent reminders of your place as a strategic partner.
Your communications and thought leadership are a profitability lever
What strikes us about this report is that growing profitability is less of a product function and more of a communications function. Your communication program is not a nice-to-have, it is an imperative.
The report also goes into rich detail on sales process, product mix and cost control — all important to the topic of margin expansion — and documents some specific findings relevant to private market. We’ll leave these aspects of the report for your perusal.
But we find the findings related to the value of communications and thought leadership to be timely reminders that spending on marcomm is a profitability driver, not a detractor. Asset managers drive for scale shouldn’t conflict with another profit imperative, communicating a differentiated value proposition.
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