At FundForum 2026 geopolitics, AI, private markets and sustainable retirement solutions were discussed
Photo credit: ESG.Guide
Erik Fransson, Executive Director, Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN), Albert Reiter, CFA, CEO, investRFP.com (from left)
FundForum in Monaco is one of the few conferences where leaders from the global asset management and wealth management industry come together to exchange perspectives, discuss emerging trends and connect with peers.
Having attended FundForum for more than 15 years, I have always found it to be a valuable barometer for where our industry is heading and how it responds to new challenges. FundForum 2026 was no exception.
Here are my key takeaways 2026:
Geopolitics remains the biggest unknown
Political developments, leadership styles, behavioural biases such as overconfidence, and geopolitical shifts remain extremely difficult to incorporate into risk models. Despite rapid advances in AI, these factors continue to challenge investors and asset managers alike.
For now, geopolitics remains an area where human judgement still matters enormously.
Pension reform: Austria cannot afford to wait any longer
Funded retirement systems are finally moving higher on the political agenda across Europe.
A special thank you to Erik Fransson, Executive Director of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, for an excellent discussion on stage during our session "An Innovative Approach for Public Fund Selection."
Sweden introduced its Premium Pension System in 2000 - the same year I founded e-fundresearch.com, an information provider on investment funds. Over the past 26 years I have followed its remarkable development from an innovative concept into a system managing more than €200 billion today, with assets expected to exceed €400 billion by 2040.
This inevitably raises one question: how could Austria, despite having had 12 different prime ministers and successive governments during the same period, ignore the demographic and economic realities for so long?
The underlying data on demographics, employment and pensions has been available for decades. It would have supported serious scenario planning and the introduction of a partially funded first-pillar pension system many years ago.
Financing growing pension deficits with taxpayers' money is not a long-term solution and it reflects a failure to implement sustainable structural reform.
Austria is late - very late - but when it comes to building a pension system that will serve future generations, it is never too late to start. With Germany now preparing significant pension reforms, perhaps the message will finally be heard in Vienna.
AI is moving from discussion to implementation
Artificial intelligence featured in virtually every conversation at FundForum. AI is increasingly being integrated into fund selection processes, yet experience shows that implementation within highly regulated banking and investment environments remains a significant challenge. The industry is moving forward but carefully.
Private markets enter a new phase
Private markets remained high on the agenda, with dedicated sessions and a strong presence from leading firms.
Interestingly, the conversation has evolved. A few years ago the question was how investors could gain access to private markets. Today, the focus is increasingly on what they have invested in, how these allocations fit within broader portfolios, and how to improve investor education, transparency and reporting (see also privatemarkets360.com).
Sustainability is key for institutional and professional investors
Compared to previous years ESG and sustainability were discussed at a different level. The focus moved to highly targeted ESG, sustainability and impact strategies. ESG is a risk management-oriented framework for institutional and professional investors.
Looking ahead to FundForum 2027, I will be particularly interested in two developments:
• How CEOs and CIOs assess the evolving geopolitical and macroeconomic landscape.
• How fund selectors report on their first full year of integrating AI into investment and fund selection processes—and what lessons they have learned.
As always, FundForum provided plenty of food for thought and a clear reminder that while technology is transforming our industry, sound judgement, long-term thinking and good public policy remain just as important as ever.
Albert Reiter, CFA, CEO, investRFP.com - FundForum 2026
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