Model Portfolio & SMA Strategists Showcase - Flipbook - Page 9
SMAs & MODEL PORTFOLIOS
Third-Party Model
Portfolio Assets Under
Advisement
$646B
$399B
$260B
June
2021
June
2023
March
2025
Source: Morningstar 2025 US Model Portfolio
Landscape (2021/2023 figures derived from
stated growth multiples)
had grown to more than $125 billion by
late 2024, up nearly 50% in about 15
months. Notably, Morningstar’s advisor
research found that 27% of advisors
still don’t use model portfolios at all,
and the largest reason cited was a
preference for customization, followed
by a perceived loss of control over
investment decisions.
That suggests the growth in custom
models is a direct response to the
exact objection that’s kept a meaningful
minority of advisors on the sidelines.
That’s the throughline for the rest of
this guide. Models aren’t a monolith.
They’re getting more sophisticated
and more tailored every year, and the
choice isn’t “outsource or don’t.” It’s
which of several structurally distinct
delivery mechanisms actually fits
a given client’s situation. The next
section turns to the market itself: who’s
building these models, at what scale,
and what that concentration means for
an advisor doing due diligence.
The Provider Landscape, 2026
dvisors evaluating model
portfolios or SMA strategists
are, whether they realize it or
not, choosing from a market that
has consolidated hard at the top
even as total assets have exploded.
Understanding that shape, who’s
actually managing this money and
where the concentration lives, makes
the due-diligence process discussed
later in this guide (p. 22) considerably
more efficient.
and more than double its nearest
competitor. Below that, Capital
Group has built a broad reach across
advisor channels with strong off-theshelf offerings, Wilshire’s off-the-shelf
presence is smaller than its custom
business (discussed below), and Janus
OFF-THE-SHELF MODELS: A
TWO-TIER MARKET
At the top of the off-the-shelf model
portfolio market, one firm has
separated meaningfully from the pack.
BlackRock is the largest provider
of third-party model portfolios, with
about $168 billion in assets, double
its size from roughly two years earlier
BlackRock’s third-party model
portfolio assets: roughly $168 billion,
more than double its next-largest
competitor, and double BlackRock’s
own size from two years earlier. Scale
concentration at the top of this market is
real and growing, which matters for how
you read every “top provider” list you’ll
encounter, including the one in this guide.
A
9
BY THE NUMBERS
One firm, double the
field
