Professionally managed assets in the U.S. stand at $73.7 trillion, with the retail client channels comprising $36.6 trillion and institutional channel assets reaching $37.1 trillion. These figures mark all-time highs across both segments of the U.S. market, according to Cerulli’s research. Regardless of your firm’s channel focus, here are several notable takeaways to consider for your 2026 product distribution strategy:

Intermediaries:

• Asset managers evaluating addressability in either channel should continue to monitor emerging trends with key intermediaries across retail (e.g., RIAs, B/Ds, advisory TAMPs) and institutional (e.g., investment consultants, OCIOs) channels as third-party distribution accounts for a larger share of assets in each.

• Outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs) continue to grow their footprints as intermediaries across most U.S. institutional asset owner channels. Assets total more than $3 trillion as of year-end 2024.

• The RIA channels have become increasingly important to many asset managers’ retail distribution strategies. The independent and hybrid channels’ outsized asset growth has been fueled by advisor movement and M&A activity, creating an attractive $5.9 trillion in professionally managed assets. Many larger RIAs are pursuing more centralized investment decision-making functions as they pursue more scalable growth.

Investment Vehicle Selection:

• For managers seeking to distribute to institutional investors, the demand typically starts with institutional separate accounts but extends to private funds and/or mutual funds for smaller institutions or for asset classes that are operationally challenging for separate accounts. ETF usage remains more tactical or operational in nature (e.g., equitizing excess cash, transition management).

• For those pursuing distribution in retail client channels, the ETF and SMA are increasingly utilized, while managers also seek to build out a variety of illiquid alternative wrapper options (e.g., private funds, interval funds) to make private market strategies easier for affluent investors to access.

Identify and execute strategic growth opportunities with The State of the U.S. Retail and Institutional Markets 2025. Access our playbook to inform your product and distribution strategy for 2026 and beyond.