Allocations: Wealth management advisors are once again increasing their allocations to stocks and bonds
The Nortia Observatory’s Q2 2026 report paints a picture of investors who are “relearning to live with uncertainty.” Driven by market resilience, risk appetite is returning to the investment portfolios managed by wealth management advisors.
After a start to the year marked by renewed volatility, the second quarter of 2026 confirms a shift in sentiment. “The markets are learning to live with uncertainty. It remains, but it no longer paralyzes them,” summarizes the Nortia Observatory, published in July. Compiled from data collected and investment decisions made by more than 3,200 partner wealth management advisors (CPGs)—representing over 72,000 clients and €12.6 billion in assets under management as of June 30—this barometer offers a rare on-the-ground perspective on the actual wealth management decisions being made in life insurance and securities accounts.
The Return of Risk Appetite
The key message is clear: investors are regaining their appetite for risky assets, driven by the resilience of the stock markets and continued monetary easing. And for good reason. Over the quarter, the S&P 500 rose 16.67%, the Nasdaq 30.43%—still driven by momentum in artificial intelligence—and the CAC 40 14.29%. This should reassure investors who were shaken by the first quarter’s volatility and encourage them to cautiously return to unit-linked funds.
The macroeconomic environment, however, remains mixed. In the United States, the economy is showing remarkable resilience, supported by consumer spending and employment, while the Federal Reserve is cautiously normalizing its policy as inflation eases. In the eurozone, the recovery remains more tentative: disinflation is taking hold, but economic activity is struggling to gain momentum, particularly in the industrial sector. This two-speed environment is prompting portfolio managers to adopt a selective approach rather than broad-based exposure.
Toward More Sophisticated Asset Allocations
Another key takeaway: the bond market continues to normalize. The gradual easing of key interest rates is restoring the rightful place of sovereign bonds and high-quality corporate bonds in diversified portfolios. After years in which euro-denominated funds and savings accounts captured the bulk of precautionary savings, bonds are once again becoming a key driver of returns within investment contracts. Wealth management advisors see this as an opportunity to rebuild balanced portfolios, where the fixed-income component once again serves as a buffer.
Specifically, the investment decisions made by wealth management advisors reflect this measured resurgence of confidence. Investments are shifting toward unit-linked products—such as stocks and bonds—while euro-denominated funds continue to serve as a safe haven. Discretionary management and investment mandates are on the rise, a sign that investors are increasingly delegating asset allocation strategies to professionals in a market deemed too complex and fast-moving to track on a day-to-day basis.
This trend also benefits so-called “diversification” asset classes. Private equity, private debt, structured products, and unlisted real estate—long reserved for institutional or high-net-worth investors—are gradually becoming accessible to a broader base of high-net-worth clients, driven by the democratization of life insurance and capitalization contracts. This trend, however, requires education and caution: these assets, which are often illiquid, are suitable only for a long-term investment horizon and should constitute only a moderate portion of one’s portfolio.
This more serene climate is also reflected in new business. Life insurance—which has long faced competition from savings accounts and capital-guaranteed euro funds that have regained their appeal—is rebounding, driven by the return of yields on fixed-income instruments and the performance of the stock markets. For wealth management advisors, the challenge now is to support their clients over the long term, helping them avoid panic during inevitable periods of volatility and tailoring risk-taking as closely as possible to each client’s individual goals.
With the help of their advisors, investors are “building more balanced and sophisticated portfolios than they were two or three years ago,” notes the Observatory. In other words: a more nuanced mix of safe-haven assets, stocks, bonds, and diversification assets such as private equity or real estate—moving away from the binary opposition between safety and returns. For wealth management advisors, this trend reflects a growing maturity among retail investors and reinforces the role of advisory services in an environment where uncertainty has become the norm rather than the exception. That said, past performance is no guarantee of future results: caution remains the order of the day.
