As Vietnam targets average annual GDP growth of 10% between 2026 and 2030, the need for long-term capital has become increasingly urgent. With the banking sector facing limits to further credit expansion, policymakers expect capital markets to play a much larger role in financing economic growth.

Yet the fund management industry - an important pillar of those markets - remains relatively underdeveloped and heavily concentrated.

Vietnam is estimated to require around VND38,500 trillion ($1.46 trillion) of investment during 2026-2030 to meet its growth objectives.

Of that total, banks are expected to provide roughly VND9,150 trillion through medium- and long-term lending, while public investment is projected to contribute about VND8,500 trillion. Foreign direct investment, mergers and acquisitions, and companies’ equity are expected to supply around VND13,370 trillion.

That leaves capital markets, including equities and corporate bonds, needing to raise an additional VND7,500-9,000 trillion ($341.82 billion) over the five-year period.

The challenge is significant. In 2025, Vietnam’s stock market raised only about VND127.4 trillion ($4.84 billion), while corporate bond issuance totaled roughly VND205.4 trillion, together accounting for less than 10% of he society's total investment.

To bridge the funding gap, annual capital raising through the securities market would need to grow by more than 55% each year for several consecutive years.

The pressure to expand the fund management industry is heightened by the limitations of a bank-centric financing model.

By the end of 2025, Vietnam’s credit-to-GDP ratio had reached around 146%, among the highest in the region and well above levels seen in Thailand (118%) and Malaysia (90%), approaching warning thresholds for systemic risk.

At the same time, banks continue to rely primarily on short-term deposits while funding medium- and long-term loans, leaving many institutions close to regulatory limits on maturity mismatches.

According to Viet Wisdom Fund Management, Vietnam had 43 licensed fund management companies at the end of 2025. However, the market is dominated by a handful of large players, with the top 10 firms accounting for 95% of industry assets under management.

Most managed assets are concentrated in companies affiliated with banks, insurance groups or foreign financial institutions, while independent fund managers have become increasingly scarce.

Between 2017 and 2025, the industry recorded 14 ownership changes, mergers or acquisitions, with many firms becoming part of larger financial ecosystems spanning banking, securities and real estate.

Although industry assets under management have expanded from approximately VND124 trillion in 2015 to more than VND806 trillion ($30.61 billion) by the end of 2025 - equivalent to an average annual growth rate of around 20% - the sector still represents only about 6.5% of GDP.

This figure is significantly lower than in other countries in the region. In Thailand, total assets under management have exceeded 20% of GDP. In Malaysia, this ratio ranges from 40-60% of GDP. Singapore has even become one of the world's largest asset management centers.

This gap shows that the growth potential of Vietnam's fund management industry remains very large.

Another notable feature of Vietnam’s market is its asset composition. Around 88% of total assets under management comes from mandates entrusted by life insurance companies, with much of that capital invested in government bonds and bank deposits rather than equities or corporate bonds.

Retail investment funds account for only about 12% of total managed assets, highlighting the industry’s continued reliance on institutional investors rather than broad-based participation from households.

Investor penetration also remains low. By the end of 2025, only around 473,000 Vietnamese had invested through mutual funds, equivalent to just 0.46% of the population.

Instead, households continue to favor bank deposits, real estate or direct stock trading over professionally managed investment products, contributing to a market structure that remains relatively speculative compared with developed economies where pension funds and mutual funds play a central role.

Industry experts argue that Vietnam needs to accelerate the development of voluntary pension funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), money market funds and other long-term investment vehicles, alongside tax incentives that encourage households to channel savings into professionally managed funds.

According to projections by Viet Wisdom Fund Management, if supportive policies are implemented effectively, total industry assets under management could reach VND1,850-2,200 trillion ($83.53 billion) by 2030, equivalent to roughly 11% of GDP, marking a significant step toward strengthening Vietnam’s capital markets as a source of long-term financing.