FINCOM Alliance, a pan-European network of independent financial PR agencies, has published its Asset Management Outlook H2 2026 report.
Based on interviews with more than 30 financial journalists across Benelux, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK, the report is designed as a practical guide for asset management firms communicating into European markets.
The report finds that across all six markets, journalists are notably more sceptical about AI than the industry suggests.
The same themes appear across every market: geopolitics, ETFs, AI and private markets, yet the editorial treatment differs sharply by country. A single pan-European message rarely lands the same way in two places, and the report argues that comms strategies need to be layered rather than centralised as a result.
A UK financial journalist quoted in the report said firms are “throwing money at AI without any real strategy. Internally and for clients. Without identifying how to use it and the risks, limitations and strengths.”
The report also highlights the fragmentation of ESG across European markets, with France seeing an emerging “defence washing” debate as sustainability narratives begin to incorporate defence investments, while in Portugal ESG is fading from the agenda altogether.
As asset management firms increasingly communicate across multiple European markets, the pressure to localise narratives rather than broadcast a single message is growing.
You can read the full report below: