Scaling through complexity

From a regional perspective, private wealth management in Europe is undergoing a period of structural change, driven by the pursuit of cross-border scale, regulatory pressures, and shifting client expectations.

Institutions are working to deliver consistent services across jurisdictions while maintaining operational efficiency and investment integrity. Cost control and access to top-tier investment capabilities are key motivators for regional integration.

Client expectations are also reshaping delivery models. Affluent clients increasingly demand institutional-quality investment options, digital access, and transparent pricing, without compromising on service. In response, hybrid advice models are being adopted. These models combine automated onboarding and reporting with human relationship management, allowing firms to serve clients with lower thresholds while maintaining product quality.

Efforts to build pan-European platforms, however, face persistent challenges.

Regulatory and tax fragmentation remains a primary constraint. Fund structures that are accepted in one market may be blocked in another due to local rules, particularly in the private asset space. In parallel, legacy systems often lack the capacity to handle multi-jurisdictional tax requirements, limiting firms’ ability to deliver a unified client experience across borders.

The CEO of a European asset management group remarked:

We are facing two main challenges: the tax impact and the fact systems can’t cope with the central management of different tax components.