Managed accounts gain momentum as advisers seek stability amid market turbulence

More financial advisers are turning to managed accounts as a way to steady client behaviour and streamline practice operations amid persistent market turbulence, according to new industry research.

Investment Trends’ latest Managed Accounts Report, supported by State Street Investment Management, found that 61% of the 1,086 advisers surveyed currently use managed accounts and a further 13% are actively considering them. The research reports managed accounts now hold a record $256 billion in funds under management and projects the market could expand to about $400 billion by the end of 2027. Advisers directing new client flows placed 61% into managed accounts, up from 48% the prior year.

Advisers say the structure helps reduce impulsive client decisions during volatile periods: over 40% agree clients in managed accounts show greater confidence and are less likely to react hastily than those outside such arrangements. State Street Investment Management’s vice president and model portfolio strategist for Asia Pacific, Sinead Schaffer, told the survey respondents that advisers are seeking “scalable, outcomes-focused solutions. Managed accounts help support long-term investment discipline while simplifying portfolio management and rebalancing.” She added that investors in managed accounts often express reassurance about staying the course: “Investors are probably saying to their friends at barbecues, despite everything that’s going on, I have confidence. I’m not worried. I have certainty. I’m not going to make a quick move, and that’s because I’m in a managed account, I work with a financial adviser.”

Investment Trends chief executive Eric Blewitt said the adoption of managed accounts can lift practice profitability by freeing advisers’ time. Blewitt said advisers reinvesting that time engage clients in broader conversations about life goals and progress toward objectives. The report found nearly six in 10 advisers believe managed accounts have improved their business profitability.

The research also indicates a shift from using managed accounts as supplementary allocations to positioning them as the central building block of portfolios, with around three-quarters of users now treating them as a core solution. Separately managed accounts (SMAs) remain the dominant structure, employed by about nine in 10 advisers implementing managed accounts, while passive ETF allocations within these vehicles rose from 16% to 21% year on year. Schaffer noted the growing role of passive ETFs within managed accounts and expects that trend to persist.

Barriers to wider uptake appear operational rather than philosophical. Among advisers who have not adopted managed accounts, the principal concerns are the perceived cost, the effort required to transition existing clients, and implementation complexity, rather than doubts about effectiveness. Adoption is concentrated among larger, more profitable firms; roughly two-thirds of advisers in practices reporting net profit margins above 30% already use managed accounts.

Independent research supports potential investor benefits from personalised, professionally managed solutions. According to a Morningstar Retirement analysis, managed accounts are among the most common personalised investment approaches and can improve retirement outcomes. Morningstar’s study found that adopting managed accounts increased the median wealth-to-salary ratio at age 65 by 7.7% across plan participants, with do-it-yourself investors seeing the largest uplift.

Industry observers point to several structural drivers behind managed-account growth. A review of trends by Advent Asset Management highlights rising demand for bespoke portfolios, noting that SMAs and unified managed accounts are meeting investors’ expectations for customisation. Broader industry analysis from Deloitte cautions that asset managers face pressure to differentiate as investors gravitate toward lower-cost products, but identifies opportunities in private markets and in scaling artificial intelligence across firms, developments that could influence the economics and delivery of managed-account programmes.

Market research houses are paying close attention. Cerulli Associates is preparing a detailed U.S. managed-accounts report for 2026 that will examine market sizing, distribution dynamics, fee models and programme design, signalling growing demand from providers and sponsors for granular business metrics.

Advisers rank investment performance as the top criterion when recommending managed accounts, followed by availability on their primary platform, competitive fees and the asset manager’s reputation. For practices already using managed accounts, the reported benefits extend beyond investment implementation to include simpler monitoring, institutional-quality management access for clients, time savings, and a reduced compliance burden.

While the industry outlook for managed accounts appears robust, market participants and advisers will be watching whether the projected expansion to $400 billion by the end of 2027 materialises and how shifts in cost structures, technology and investor preferences affect adoption across smaller and mid-sized practices.