Financial markets, stock markets especially, appear able to defy gravity despite the global geopolitical and economic situation. A plethora of institutional and individual explanations have been offered as to why, but most seem to miss the point.Which is, at least in part, that we have created a kind of monster in the asset management industry, which channels a glut of global savings into a limited number of investment areas and which, by virtue of these captive inflows, is able to maintain asset valuations at record highs.The value of global assets under management is set to rewrite records, with PricewaterhouseCoopers expecting the figure to rise from nearly US$140 trillion in 2024 to US$200 trillion by 2030. McKinsey, which puts the 2024 figure at US$135 trillion, said this had grown to US$147 trillion in mid-2025.
SRCSouth China Morning Post
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Right
WORDS133
ENT2
SAT · 2026-04-25 · 08:30 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0425-71608
NSR-2026-0425-71608Analysis·EN·Economic Impact
The real reason stock markets are still flying high despite grave risks
Stock markets are experiencing sustained growth despite significant global risks, largely due to the influence of the asset management industry. This industry, managing a rapidly expanding pool of global savings projected to reach $200 trillion by 2030, funnels these funds into a concentrated set of investments.
Anthony RowleySouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-04-25 · 08:30 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
South China Morning PostFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
133words
Sources cited
2cited
Entities identified
2entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01
Briefing Summary
AI-generatedNEWSAR · AI
Stock markets are experiencing sustained growth despite significant global risks, largely due to the influence of the asset management industry. This industry, managing a rapidly expanding pool of global savings projected to reach $200 trillion by 2030, funnels these funds into a concentrated set of investments. These consistent inflows, often described as "captive," enable asset managers to maintain record-high valuations. While various explanations exist for this market resilience, the article posits that the sheer volume of assets under management and its channeling into specific investment areas is a primary driver. This phenomenon is observed globally, with projections indicating continued substantial growth in assets under management in the coming years.
Confidence 0.85Sources 2Claims 4Entities 2
§ 02
Article analysis
Model · rule-basedFraming
Economic Impact
Political Strategy
Tone
Measured
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.60 / 1.00
Mixed
LowHigh
Sources cited
2
Limited
FewMany
§ 03
Key claims
4 extracted01
McKinsey puts the 2024 figure at US$135 trillion and said this had grown to US$147 trillion in mid-2025.
statisticMcKinsey
Confidence
0.90
02
PricewaterhouseCoopers expects global assets under management to rise from nearly US$140 trillion in 2024 to US$200 trillion by 2030.
predictionPricewaterhouseCoopers
Confidence
0.90
03
The asset management industry channels a glut of global savings into a limited number of investment areas.
factual
Confidence
0.80
04
Stock markets appear able to defy gravity despite the global geopolitical and economic situation.
factual
Confidence
0.70
§ 04
Full report
1 min read · 133 words§ 05
Entities
2 identifiedKey playerOppositionContext
§ 06
Keywords & salience
10 termsstock markets
1.00
asset management industry
0.90
global savings
0.80
asset valuations
0.70
financial markets
0.60
economic situation
0.50
geopolitical risks
0.50
mckinsey
0.40
investment areas
0.40
pricewaterhousecoopers
0.40
§ 07
Topic connections
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