Definition:Assets under management
| Assets under management | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | AUM |
| Category | kpis; volume |
| Metric id | assets_under_management |
| Unit | currency |
| Related terms | Net investment income, Other revenue, Total revenue |
| Definition | Third-party plus general-account assets managed by the group's asset-management arm. |
💰 Assets under management is the total market value of the investments that an insurance group's asset-management arm oversees. The total combines portfolios run for third-party clients with the group's own general-account assets. The industry abbreviates it AUM. AUM measures the scale of the investment business, not the insurance business: premium metrics count risk transferred, AUM counts capital entrusted. At diversified groups such as AXA, Allianz, or Generali, AUM spans mutual funds, institutional mandates, and the portfolios backing the insurer's own reserves.
🔄 Groups report AUM in currency at each closing date. Four drivers move it: net client flows, market performance, currency translation, and scope changes such as acquisitions or disposals of mandates. Disclosures typically split third-party assets from general-account and unit-linked assets, because the economics differ. Third-party mandates pay the manager a fee, usually a few basis points to tens of basis points on average AUM. General-account assets earn investment income for the insurer itself. Fee revenue therefore scales almost mechanically with average AUM over the period.
🏦 A large asset-management arm changes an insurance group's earnings mix, and investors watch the change closely. Fee income recurs, consumes little capital under solvency frameworks such as Solvency II, and moves largely independently of underwriting cycles, so it diversifies results away from claims volatility. Growing AUM also signals distribution strength and client confidence, which is why groups report net flows alongside the headline stock. The mechanism cuts both ways: sustained outflows or a market drawdown compress fee earnings quickly, so AUM serves as an early indicator of pressure on the fee-based side of the business.