Assets Under Management (AUM)

What Are Assets Under Management (AUM)?

Assets Under Management (AUM) is the total market value of financial assets that an individual, firm, or institution manages on behalf of clients.

How to Calculate AUM

AUM has no single universal formula, and definitions can vary between entities. Some institutions include bank deposits, mutual fund assets, and cash, while others count only funds under discretionary management. When reviewing a company’s reported AUM, it can help to check which assets are included.

AUM also changes constantly. It rises with inflows of new investor capital and appreciation in the value of managed assets, and it falls with outflows, redemptions, and market declines. A single snapshot of AUM therefore reflects both investor demand and market performance.

Why AUM Matters

Investment companies often use AUM as a marketing tool, highlighting their scale to attract new investors. Growth in AUM over time may signal investor confidence, and comparisons with historical data and competitors can offer insight into a firm’s trajectory.

However, higher AUM does not always mean better results. Investment strategies may have capacity constraints, and performance can suffer if AUM grows beyond what a strategy can effectively deploy. 

AUM also plays a central role in fee structures. Investment managers typically charge fees as a percentage of AUM, making it a firm’s key revenue driver. Many managers apply tiered fee rates that decrease as AUM grows, which can make larger accounts comparatively cheaper to run.

AUM in Crypto and DeFi

These products have brought the traditional AUM concept into crypto markets at institutional scale.

Crypto data providers reported DeFi TVL in the range of roughly $70 billion to $130 billion in 2026, depending on methodology and market conditions.