World Center for Strategic Studies
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Risks for Europe of US dominance of global asset management
On April 8 2026, the Breugel Institute (Brussels European and Global Economic Laboratory) web-site published a policy brief Risks for Europe of US dominance of global asset management on the risks of growing influence of US asset management companies in the EU.
Asset managers work on behalf of asset owners, such as pension funds and insurance companies. In Europe, the share of American asset managers is rising, while that of their European counterparts is declining. US asset managers may soon take No. 1 place in Europe.
Fig.1: Asset managers by origin, European market shares
A small number of dominant US firms, primarily BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street (collectively known as the Big Three), capture the vast majority of net inflows, driven by economies of scale, passive investing and technology. The Big Three prefer to invest in the US rather than European companies.
There are differences between US and European asset managers.
American asset managers often operate from Dublin and Luxembourg which means that national supervisors cannot effectively oversee their Europe-wide operations
European asset managers are active on environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. The US asset managers (the Big Three, in particular) are prone to vote against social and environmental resolutions. European asset managers vote in favour of such resolutions 80% of the time, while voting in favour by US asset managers dropped from 49 percent in 2021 to 17 percent in 2024. It is the result of the anti-environmental and anti-social movement in the USA.
Fig.2: Voting on social and environmental resolutions
The anti-ESG movement is a politically driven backlash, led by the US Republican Party. Its followers state that ESG investing may distort market mechanisms.
US asset managers frequently hire prominent politicians, former government officials and high-level aides to lobby, work on regulatory issues, manage geopolitical risks and gain privileged access to government opportunities.
Some large US asset managers in Europe hire prominent politicians and central bankers in their most important markets to enhance corporate profitability and protect corporate interests.
Among such employees of BlackRock are former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, former Swiss National Bank Governor Philipp Hildebrand, current Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz and a former economic advisor to the French President Jean-François Cirelli. At Goldman Sachs we find former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Asset managers may take the side of corporate managers which is not always optimal for the asset owners. Asset managers are interested in voting with, rather than against, corporate management, as they may have business ties with the companies (for example, revenues from administering and managing their pension plans). This is particularly true for US asset managers.
The growing dominance of US asset managers in Europe reduces the share of European players undermining the EU’s ability to independently direct savings to European investments and get strategic autonomy.
