Robust Market Growth Pushes Managed Account Assets Over $18 Trillion – MMI-Cerulli Data

The newest edition of MMI-Cerulli Advisory Solutions Quarterly, with data through 6/30/2026, is now available for download.  

Boosted by substantial growth in domestic equity markets, managed account assets increased 10.7% quarterly to reach $18.2 trillion in Q2 2026. ETF Advisory (12.4%), Unified Managed Account (12.3%), and Rep as Portfolio Manager (12.1%) programs recorded the strongest growth during the quarter, but all program types benefited from the robust market conditions. The number of sponsor firms with more than $1 trillion in assets has risen to seven, up from five a quarter ago. These seven firms now account for 63% of industry assets. Total separate account (SMA) assets surpassed $5 trillion for the first time when considering both standalone SMAs and those held within Unified Managed Account (UMA) programs. Continued SMA product development from asset managers and demand for tax-advantaged, differentiated products from wealth managers will ensure this trend persists.

Managed account net flows exceeded $300 billion for the fourth consecutive quarter and closed Q2 2026 with the second-highest net flows since Cerulli began tracking this data ($373.0 billion), just behind Q1's total of $387.9 billion. Net flow program trends remained intact, with UMA ($143.9 billion) and standalone SMA ($106.9 billion) programs leading the way in net new money. Rep as advisor programs continued to experience net outflows (-$3.9 billion) as more firms move toward sunsetting the client discretionary program type.  

From an SMA asset class perspective, tax-aware long/short strategies ($155.2 billion) have soared to become the fourth-largest manager-traded objective after Cerulli began tracking it in Q4 2025. While still well behind direct indexing ($1,349 billion), municipal fixed income ($787 billion), and taxable fixed income ($466 billion), long/short SMAs were the top reported SMA asset class that managed account sponsors wanted to add to their platforms in 2026, with 59% of firms expressing interest. 

Transformation, Not Upgrades: The Journey to a UMH

This edition of Advisory Solutions Quarterly also explores the long and complex path for wealth firms to deliver a Unified Managed Household (UMH).  

A UMH takes a client's entire financial picture into account, coordinating all holdings and optimizing returns not within a single account but across the entire household. While more aspirational than operational in its current state, wealth managers that can achieve this will have a leg up on their competition. The development and implementation of a UMH is an arduous process that requires significant time and commitment across the organization. To achieve a UMH, Cerulli outlines three crucial steps: (1) Opening Moves and Documentation, (2) Connecting the Plumbing, and (3) Advanced Features.

The first step concentrates on streamlining an advisor's workflows, including implementing a single investment contract, standardizing program fee schedules, and consolidating reporting to provide a holistic view of all client accounts. The second step primarily focuses on investing in the underlying technology to ensure the platform functions optimally. This difficult but integral step requires synchronizing all account components (e.g., portfolio management, performance reporting) and relies heavily on comprehensive, accurate data to be effective. After completing the first two steps, firms can then consider adding advanced householding features. These tools are designed to improve client outcomes on an after-tax basis, with features spanning the entire client relationship, from account setup (e.g., tax-efficient transitions, asset location optimization) through to retirement capabilities (e.g., tax-smart withdrawals, Social Security optimization). 

Platform Sponsors: Key Factors in Building a Consolidated Platform, 2026 

Analyst Note: Managed account sponsors and TAMPs were asked: "Please rate the importance of each factor in the development of a consolidated platform."

Source: Cerulli Associates 

Managed account sponsors report that household-level tax management and household-level pricing are the most important factors when developing a consolidated platform, with 100% of respondents agreeing they are important. 

Dive deeper into the report for insights in four key areas:

• Asset management distribution
• Long-term managed accounts industry trends
• Top-managed account program sponsors across all industry segments
• Asset allocation model portfolios

MMI-Cerulli Advisory Solutions Quarterly

The Advisory Solutions Quarterly periodical provides holistic analyses of the U.S. fee-based advisory industry, which includes sponsors (broker/dealer firms) that offer managed account programs and the asset managers that distribute those programs through their platforms.

MMI members can use this data to deepen their understanding of:

• Managed account program type assets and growth rates
• Quarterly managed account flows by program type
• Managed account sponsor firm assets at the program level
• Separate account manager assets at the trading discretion level
• Separate account asset classes in highest use by trading discretion type 

MMI-Cerulli Advisory Solutions Data Portal

The sponsor and manager dashboards on the MMI-Cerulli Advisory Solutions Data portal on Cerulli’s Lodestar platform have now been updated with the Q2 2026 data. As a reminder, MMI members that contribute their advisory solutions data to Cerulli on a quarterly basis have access to this online portal. It allows users to take a deeper dive into the MMI-Cerulli dataset – with the ability to sort, filter and export the data for business planning and presentation purposes.