US-based State Street Investment Management has published its 2025 EMEA Wealth Manager Survey, providing insights into factors influencing wealth managers’ investment decision-making, how they are responding to long-term challenges and opportunities, and how this is shaping their priorities for the next decade.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) remain dominant, with rising demand for both index and active strategies, according to State Street Investment Management's 2025 EMEA Wealth Manager Survey.

In a time of macroeconomic uncertainty and industry change, the survey captures trends guiding portfolio positioning – including ETFs, active approaches, and alternative and thematic asset allocation – and the steps wealth managers are taking to address obstacles. It was conducted between May and July 2025, covering 82 wealth managers across Europe, collectively representing over $5 trillion in assets under management.

The survey shows that 88 per cent of wealth managers expect to use ETFs more frequently in client portfolios. Around half of wealth managers expect to maintain their current allocation between active and index investments.

Although private markets have been more challenging in the last two years, alternatives are moving up the agenda, with liquidity being the decisive constraint. Wealth managers are increasingly interested in private markets, the survey reveals, with 53 per cent expecting to increase allocations to private equity and 42 per cent to private credit over the next three to five years. However, liquidity remains a significant barrier, with 68 per cent citing it as the most common obstacle.

Thematics, especially technology and artificial intelligence, continue to capture attention. Technology is transforming the industry, with 72 per cent of wealth managers focusing on tech and AI innovation, the survey reveals.

Cost pressures and regulatory complexity will drive decisions. Wealth managers are concerned about technological disruption (27 per cent), cost pressures (22 per cent), regulatory compliance (17 per cent), and market uncertainty (11 per cent).

Wealth managers want more innovation, deeper insights, and stronger support from asset managers. Increasingly, they need more active, smart beta, and thematic ETFs, greater access to private markets and alternative beta solutions. Timely market insights, flow data, and tactical asset allocation guidance were high on the list of wants, alongside stronger education efforts for portfolio managers.

“The findings are diverse: some expected, some surprising. ETFs continue to dominate, but active strategies are on the rise,” Matteo Andreetto, State Street Investment Management’s head of intermediary clients coverage for Europe, said. “Alternatives are climbing the agenda, though liquidity remains a hurdle. And technology, particularly artificial intelligence, is transforming both portfolio construction and client engagement in real time.”

“If we had to distil one message from the findings, it’s this: flexibility will be vital. Wealth managers are being asked to deliver efficiency, innovation, and resilience all at once. By listening and learning from each other, I’m confident we can rise to that challenge and chart the next chapter of European wealth management together.”