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Advisers tip managed portfolios into the mainstream: North launches inaugural insights report

02 Oct 2025
From

David Hutchison

Key points

  • Newly-launched biannual report by North explores why 2025 is a tipping point for managed account adoption
  • 24.6% annual increase in AUM for managed accounts in Australia, rising to $256.24 billion in AUM according to the latest figures.[1]
  • Two in three advisers now use managed portfolios[2], yet only about one-third of advised assets are in managed portfolios[3], highlighting significant opportunity for growth

AMP’s inaugural North Managed Portfolios Insights Report finds 2025 is the tipping point: managed portfolios have moved from an efficiency play to the default operating system for advice – driven by advisers seeking stronger governance, less implementation risk and more client time.

The numbers tell a compelling story. According to the latest IMAP and Milliman Census, total Australian managed portfolio assets under management (AUM) reached $256.24 billion as of 30 June 2025 – representing close to 25% growth year-on-year.

At the same time North has just achieved its fastest half year of growth, with managed portfolio AUM surging by more than $2.7 billion during the period to reach $21.8 billion as of 30 June 2025 thanks to flows and market movement – a 37% increase over the past year.

The biannual report draws on expert insights from independent advisers, asset consultants and some of the foremost thinkers in investment management.

By examining the investment trends and themes shaping managed portfolios today, North’s Managed Portfolios Insights Report provides advice practices across Australia—and those exploring managed accounts for the first time—with a clear view of the structural transformation underway in wealth management.

Key Findings

  • Record Growth: Managed portfolio assets under management in Australia reached $256.24 billion at June 2025, a 24.6% year-on-year increase.
  • Boutiques break through: While the top managers still command the bulk of industry assets, the report shows rapid growth from challengers, with challenger managers fast gaining traction as advisers diversify their manager line-ups to access global capability, alternatives and ESG-focused strategies at scale.
  • Innovation and Customisation: The next wave of growth will be driven by customisation, technology integration and the inclusion of alternative assets, as well as private markets and sustainable investments.
    As an example, North’s “Blend” style solutions are gaining popularity, merging off-the-shelf efficiency with adviser control.
    Launched in June    , North innovative ‘Blend’ offer enables advisers who are seeking the efficiencies of managed portfolios (but may not have the scale just yet) to partially customise according to their clients’ needs at a holistic ‘Portfolio Series’ level supports advice practices who want to tailor model portfolios realise the practice efficiency and client improvements from managing a model portfolio solution.
  • Global Perspective: Australia’s transformation reflects global trends, with managed portfolios becoming the default architecture of advice in the US and UK. Regulatory changes are accelerating adoption and innovation worldwide.
Shane Oliver, Chief Economist, AMP said: “Managed portfolios are acting as a mirror to broader investment trends. They continue to continue to aim for innovation in terms of new assets, diversification and managing risks to cope with the shift towards a somewhat less globalised, less economic rationalist and more multipolar world.”
“Australian investors have been increasingly reducing their home country bias. While much of this has favoured the US in recent times, this is under some consideration given its period of outperformance and uncertainties around US policies, but US dominance in AI provides a significant offset. In many ways, managed portfolios are a barometer for the world’s largest allocators – they reflect the same forces reshaping institutional portfolios worldwide.”
 
Toby Potter, Chair of the Institute of Managed Account Professionals said: “The scale of inflows shows that advisers see managed portfolios as structural to their service models—that’s why adoption continues to climb. The international experience is clear. Once advisers adopt managed portfolio models, they rarely go back.”
———-
Notes:
[1] Source: IMAP FUM Census report for 2025. Data as at 30 June 2025
[2] Source: 16th SPDR ETFs / Investment Trends Managed Accounts Report
[3] Source: NMG Consulting

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