Taking stock of a remarkable year in asset and wealth management

For the wealth and asset management industries, this year was marked by widespread consolidation, fierce competition for financial advisor talent, and firms doubling down on their wealth businesses.

From Morgan Stanley’s E-Trade and Eaton Vance acquisitions to Franklin Templeton’s Legg Mason deal and LPL Financial and Macquarie’s bid for Waddell & Reed’s businesses, the asset and wealth management industries underwent drastic consolidation. 

Investment management merger and acquisition activity in the US was valued at some $28 billion this year, the highest overall deal value in the sector since $29 billion in 2000, according to data from Dealogic. 

Meanwhile JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citi all laid out new ambitions or executed on plans to grow their wealth businesses, and a flurry of financial advisor recruitment took the industry by storm.

Analysts and executives expect the wave of consolidation to carry into next year as sheer scale has become a necessity for fee-pressured investment managers looking for an edge.

Business Insider is taking you through our asset and wealth management coverage of 2020. 

Deal activity is taking the asset and wealth management industries by storm. 

Credit Suisse names 4 firms as likely deal targets after a fresh wave of asset management M&A – and pinpoints possible buyers  

Execs from 4 asset managers like Franklin Templeton and Invesco give clues on how they’re prepping for a wave of M&A 

A new SPAC is on the hunt for a wealth-management deal. Here’s a look at the type of companies it’s targeting. 

Here’s our analysis of some of the biggest deals: 

Why Morgan Stanley’s $7 billion bid for a storied asset manager gives it a leg up on rivals and signals more deals to come

What BlackRock’s $1 billion bid for a trendy indexing business means for the money management industry  

Morgan Stanley, which has 15,000-plus financial advisers catering to the super-wealthy, is buying a discount broker known for its talking baby ads

Wealth and asset managers are rapidly evolving in a low- or no-fee world, where clients’ tastes are changing.

The asset manager of the future looks like a consultant. Here’s how firms like BlackRock, PIMCO, and Invesco are preparing for it.

Uber-rich investors hungry for growth have turned their sights on the private market. Here’s how wealth firms like Citi and UBS are transforming their businesses to meet those client demands.

Meet the 17 BlackRock power players carrying out CEO Larry Fink’s vision to turbocharge private equity and alternative investments growth

Goldman Sachs just revealed a new wealth brand at its first-ever investor day. It shows how the bank is trying to reshape its strategy – and image.

How JPMorgan’s Kristin Lemkau is planning to turbocharge the firm’s $500 billion wealth business, from a rebrand and ramping up advisor training to new tech

As the coronavirus pandemic ushered in widespread remote work, firms were forced to adjust.

Is Florida the new Wall Street?

Wealth managers can no longer take clients on splashy outings or events because of the pandemic. Here’s what they’re doing instead to keep their richest clients happy.

Wells Fargo is ditching a 750-person WeWork space, while Citi inked a deal with the flex-office giant far from a big city. Here’s a look at how financial firms are retooling their real estate.

Merrill Lynch has restarted hiring for its ultra-competitive 3,000-person financial advisor trainee program after hitting pause for months amid the pandemic