2024 Australian Investment and Wealth Management M&A Outlook

As firms begin to prepare for 2024, after a year of unprecedented market disruptions, investment and wealth management firms are finding ways to navigate headwinds by innovating, adapting and catering to evolving client preferences. While rising interest rates, high inflation levels and tightened regulations continue to change the landscape, strong competition has put downward pressure on fees, coupled with increasing costs, resulting in margin compression. The continued rise of ESG and emergence of Generative AI have also been making waves in the industry which led to a number of firms embracing next-generation tools and trends to gain a competitive advantage over their peers.

The Australian market offers a fertile ground for M&A opportunities which remains imperative for firms to drive growth and success in the competitive marketplace. Several key trends, themes and challenges stand out which are examined in our 2024 Investment and Wealth Management M&A Outlook.