PwC Sees Private Markets Set to Dominate AWM Revenues by 2030

What's New

PwC's Asset and Wealth Management Revolution 2025 report projects private markets will capture more than half of total industry revenues by 2030, cementing their position as the sector's most profitable engine. While alternative AUM is expected to reach $34 trillion with private markets specifically hitting $26.6 trillion, the report warns that rising competition will put growing pressure on the standout fees and margins that have defined the asset class.

Why It Matters

Private markets currently generate roughly four times as much profit per dollar of AUM as traditional managers, making them the primary battleground for industry profitability. As regulatory reforms and new product structures democratize access to retail investors, firms must decide whether to lead the "retailisation" wave or risk being disintermediated by fintechs and big tech companies driving tokenisation and innovation.

Big Picture Drivers

• Retailisation momentum: ELTIF 2.0 in Europe, UK long-term asset funds, US interval funds, and new frameworks in Singapore and Hong Kong are systematically opening private markets to individual investors.

• Tokenisation acceleration: Tokenised fund AUM is projected to grow at a 41% CAGR, reaching $715 billion by 2030 from approximately $90 billion in 2024.

• Convergence pressure: 33% of asset managers cite democratization of private markets as a top revenue growth driver, while 32% point to public-private market convergence.

• Fee compression threat: Rising competition is placing pressure on the premium margins that private markets managers have historically commanded.

• Distribution evolution: Private market players are expanding into wealth channels with semi-liquid structures offering greater accessibility for individual investors.

By The Numbers

• $26.6 trillion: Projected private markets AUM by 2030

• $715 billion: Expected tokenised fund AUM by 2030, up from $90 billion in 2024

• >50%: Private markets' projected share of total AWM industry revenues by 2030

• 4x: Profit per dollar of AUM that private markets generate versus traditional managers

• 41%: Compound annual growth rate forecast for tokenised fund assets through 2030

Key Trends to Watch

• Product innovation priority: More than 40% of managers view tokenisation as their most important product innovation, signaling a fundamental shift in how private market assets will be structured and distributed.

• Hypermarket convergence: Full-scale private-to-public hypermarkets are projected to capture 49.4% of the $230 billion revenue increase through 2030, as public-market leaders add private-market engines and vice versa.

• Wealth channel expansion: Private market managers are developing products with greater liquidity and accessibility specifically designed for high-net-worth and mass-affluent segments.

• Technology-enabled access: Tokenisation could transform asset management the way streaming changed music—broadening access, streamlining distribution, and creating entirely new investor experiences.

The Wrap

The private markets opportunity is immense but increasingly contested. Firms that move quickly to build retail distribution capabilities, embrace tokenisation infrastructure, and develop semi-liquid product structures will capture disproportionate value from the democratization wave. Those that wait risk ceding the economics of this transformation to fintechs, big tech, and more agile competitors already tokenising private market assets.