Key Takeaways
- • KPMG's 15th annual Evolving Asset Management Regulation Report analyzes over 200 regulatory developments across nearly 30 jurisdictions, identifying a fundamental shift from defensive compliance to growth-enabling regulation in 2025.
- • Regulators across the US, EU, UK, and Asia-Pacific are streamlining requirements, removing market access barriers, and encouraging product innovation—exemplified by the European Commission's "competitiveness compass" and the UK's financial services growth strategy.
- • Private markets have surged up the regulatory agenda, with authorities implementing enhanced transparency frameworks, valuation governance standards, conflict-of-interest management protocols, and robust client disclosure requirements.
- • The "retailisation" of private assets represents a key trend, requiring asset managers to recalibrate product strategies and risk management frameworks to capitalize on regulatory opportunities while navigating divergence across jurisdictions.
- • Asset managers must balance the deregulatory opportunities presented by growth-focused regulators with risks of regulatory divergence, greenwashing concerns, and the need for robust governance in increasingly complex markets.
Summary
The asset management industry faces a pivotal regulatory inflection point in 2025, characterized by a fundamental reorientation of supervisory priorities from compliance-heavy frameworks toward growth and innovation enablement. KPMG's comprehensive analysis of over 200 regulatory developments spanning nearly 30 jurisdictions reveals that policymakers globally are abandoning purely defensive regulatory postures in favor of strategies that actively support industry competitiveness amid geopolitical uncertainty and sluggish economic growth.
This regulatory shift is most evident in major financial centers. The European Commission's "competitiveness compass" initiative and the UK's dedicated growth strategy for financial services exemplify a coordinated effort to streamline requirements and reduce barriers to market entry. These policy changes create tangible opportunities for asset managers to reassess product suites, pursue international market expansion, and deploy technology infrastructure to address evolving client needs. However, the deregulatory momentum introduces concurrent risks: regulatory divergence across jurisdictions, potential compliance gaps, and the need for heightened internal risk management to prevent unintended consequences.
Private markets have emerged as a central focal point for regulatory attention, marking a strategic priority shift within supervisory agendas. Authorities are implementing comprehensive frameworks designed to enhance transparency, strengthen conduct standards, and introduce new governance benchmarks—particularly for loan-originating products. Key regulatory priorities include refined valuation governance protocols, systematic conflict-of-interest management, and enhanced client disclosures. This intensified oversight reflects regulators' recognition of private markets' systemic importance and growth trajectory.
A defining trend reshaping asset management is the "retailisation" of private assets—the democratization of previously institutional-only investment opportunities. This structural shift requires asset managers to redesign distribution channels, client service models, and product architecture to serve a broadened investor base while maintaining fiduciary standards. The regulatory environment is facilitating this transition through tailored frameworks that balance investor protection with market access.
Asset managers navigating this landscape must synthesize multiple imperatives: leveraging deregulatory opportunities for competitive advantage, managing cross-border regulatory divergence, strengthening governance around emerging asset classes, and implementing robust data frameworks to address evolving client demands and regulatory expectations.
This regulatory shift is most evident in major financial centers. The European Commission's "competitiveness compass" initiative and the UK's dedicated growth strategy for financial services exemplify a coordinated effort to streamline requirements and reduce barriers to market entry. These policy changes create tangible opportunities for asset managers to reassess product suites, pursue international market expansion, and deploy technology infrastructure to address evolving client needs. However, the deregulatory momentum introduces concurrent risks: regulatory divergence across jurisdictions, potential compliance gaps, and the need for heightened internal risk management to prevent unintended consequences.
Private markets have emerged as a central focal point for regulatory attention, marking a strategic priority shift within supervisory agendas. Authorities are implementing comprehensive frameworks designed to enhance transparency, strengthen conduct standards, and introduce new governance benchmarks—particularly for loan-originating products. Key regulatory priorities include refined valuation governance protocols, systematic conflict-of-interest management, and enhanced client disclosures. This intensified oversight reflects regulators' recognition of private markets' systemic importance and growth trajectory.
A defining trend reshaping asset management is the "retailisation" of private assets—the democratization of previously institutional-only investment opportunities. This structural shift requires asset managers to redesign distribution channels, client service models, and product architecture to serve a broadened investor base while maintaining fiduciary standards. The regulatory environment is facilitating this transition through tailored frameworks that balance investor protection with market access.
Asset managers navigating this landscape must synthesize multiple imperatives: leveraging deregulatory opportunities for competitive advantage, managing cross-border regulatory divergence, strengthening governance around emerging asset classes, and implementing robust data frameworks to address evolving client demands and regulatory expectations.
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