Marketing planning for 2026: Competing in a hyper-fast asset management landscape

The pace of change in asset management is accelerating and 2026 will demand sharper decisions, faster execution, and clearer differentiation than ever before. Product cycles are shortening, competition is intensifying, and the firms that win will be those that master brand, clarity and localisation, not just broader presence.  

Key dynamics reshaping 2026 

Asset management is now evolving at a speed few industries can match. We’re seeing: 

• Rapid product innovation with faster launches, tighter cycles and fiercer scrutiny. 

• A new “barbell” industry shape with powerful global brands on one end and high-credibility specialists on the other, leaving undifferentiated firms squeezed in the middle. 

• Localisation is a non-negotiable as investor behaviours and fund selection triggers differ meaningfully by market. 

• Trust and clarity rising in importance as performance and fees can be easily compared across asset managers. 

• AI reshaping research habits, with advisers validating results through trusted, authoritative sources like asset manager websites.  

Product proliferation continues, active ETFs hit the mainstream, and private markets are entering more allocation conversations. Clients can now scan, shortlist and switch providers with unprecedented ease, rewarding those that communicate clearly and penalising complexity.  

These themes framed a recent webinar led by Vincent Hooplot, COO and Chief Strategist at Fundamental Group, which laid out what these shifts mean for marketers planning for 2026. The message was unmistakable: being everywhere is no longer enough, being meaningfully different is what counts.  

Where winning brands stand out 

Drawing on early findings from Fundamental Group’s new intermediary research across the UK, Germany and Italy, Hooplot revisited the familiar active vs. passive narrative and reframed it as a strategic barbell defined by outcomes, not labels:  

1. Large, broad brands 

These firms compete across categories, channels and audiences. Their strength comes from scale, breadth and brand recognition. 

2. Specialist brands 

These firms win through focus, owning a narrower segment with depth, credibility and repeatable expertise. 

Between these two poles lies the danger zone. With rising value-for-money scrutiny and growing overlap in propositions, mid-market firms risk being overlooked unless they convey a distinctive and strong USP.  

Different markets, different realities 

One of the clearest messages from the research was that European markets may look similar on the surface, but they do not behave the same. For marketers, this has real implications.  

• Asset class interest is consistent, but motivations are not.  
  While appetite for certain asset classes remains stable across Europe, enthusiasm for areas like private markets varies sharply when you examine where advisers expect to increase allocations. 

• Cost matters everywhere, but not equally. 
  In some markets, intermediaries start with price. In others, brand strength, investment philosophy and credibility carry more weight. 

• A single “value” message is rarely a winning strategy. 

• Research triggers differ. 
  Events, editorial content, peer insight, client conversations, each market has its own hierarchy of influence. 

• And once research begins, priorities diverge. 
  Some audiences want deep strategy detail. Others prioritise performance context, or manager commentary, or holdings-level transparency. 

Ultimately, a unified European narrative works, but only with disciplined local execution.  

AI and answer engines are helpful, but not trusted on their own 

The webinar also explored how intermediaries use AI tools today, from identifying products to summarising information to early-stage risk assessment. Adoption varies significantly by market, reflecting uneven digital readiness.  

But the most important insight was what happens next. After using AI, intermediaries still double-check the results. 

They validate insights through: 

• trusted financial websites 

• official documents 

• firm-published materials 

This reinforces a new reality that your content isn’t just part of your brand, it’s part of the verification layer investors rely on. 

What matters more than ever is clarity, accuracy and consistency.  

What intermediaries want most from asset managers 

A standout moment in the research came from a new open-ended question asking what intermediaries wished asset managers understood better about their role. Engagement was exceptionally high, and the answers were strikingly different by country.  

Across markets, themes included: 

• A deeper understanding of the end client 

• Support that reduces workload and saves time 

• More relevant, more frequent communication 

• Stronger relationship quality 

From the research, it’s clear that the same audience category can want fundamentally different types of support, and your messaging, service design and channel mix should reflect that. 

Clarity, simplicity and trust will be the 2026 advantage 

As the market grows louder and faster, the firms that win will be those that make clear choices, explain their value simply, and earn trust in ways that feel relevant in every local market. 

If there are elements in this article that you would like to discuss in more detail, please contact [email protected].