The wealth management market - United States

1.1 Definition and presentation

Asset management refers to the set of activities revolving around the investment of funds on behalf of customers in portfolios containing different types of assets (e.g. financial, real estate, land, art) with the aim of optimizing the return while limiting risk. The typical products offered by asset management consulting firms are savings, life insurance and investment products (equity, bond, currency and commodity portfolios).

In this context, asset management is structured around 3 main activities:

• The creation of a balance sheet: professional, economic and familiar situations;
• The implementation of an investment project: risk aversion, objectives in terms of return, etc. ...;
• The management and investment of capital: according to predefined criteria of profitability, risk, transmission, financial flows, etc....

Asset management is often in the hands of large banking groups, mainly retail banks (Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, etc.) or investment banks (JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, etc.), or insurance groups. U.S. asset management companies are international giants that manage a significant portion of the world's assets. Extremely positive projections about the growth and development of the global asset management industry have a significant influence on the US market, but on the other hand, the imminent political and fiscal changes in the US cause a level of uncertainty.