- We analyzed 1,187 search terms around asset management, financial advice and robo-advisors (October 2025 to September 2026). This leaves 830 distinct searches with around 108,600 searches per month.
- “vermögensverwalter” (asset manager) has 3,175 searches per month at an €11.21 top bid, 38% fewer than the previous year. Fee-based advice has the highest median top bid at €9.43.
- Comparison searches are rare but expensive: “beste vermögensverwalter” reaches €16.30 with 223 searches, “vermögensverwaltung testsieger” €12.82.
- For all 20 investor questions, Google shows an AI Overview. Flossbach von Storch is cited four times as a source; at least six asset managers and digital asset management services appear there.
Investors with larger assets search Google for an asset manager, for independent advice, for digital offerings and for answers to their questions about costs and minimum investment. We analyzed these searches: how large the demand is per area, what a click costs, when in the year people search the most and which websites Google cites as sources in its AI Overviews.
How we analyzed the searches
The basis is 1,187 search terms from the Google Ads Keyword Planner via DataForSEO, for Germany, October 2025 to September 2026. Searches are monthly averages over these twelve months; the tailwind compares them with the twelve months before. Bids are the upper Google Ads bid estimates for the top of the page.
Three adjustments matter:
- Identical searches count once. Google lists closely related spellings such as “vermögensverwaltung” and “vermögensverwalter” with identical numbers. We merged them, leaving 830 distinct searches.
- Searches unrelated to investing are excluded. These include statements of assets, wealth tax, legal guardianship, protected assets and insurance.
- Scalable Capital is excluded. Google lists “scalable capital vermögensverwaltung” with the figures for the entire brand, 118,458 searches per month. That would distort the asset management area.
Around 108,600 searches per month in seven areas
| Area | Searches per month | Share | Top bid (median) | Top bid (high range) | Tailwind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial advice | 57.107 | 53 % | 5,81 € | 21,74 € | −1 % |
| Large assets | 20.827 | 19 % | 4,99 € | 29,21 € | −4 % |
| Robo-advisor | 12.082 | 11 % | 6,70 € | 27,01 € | −16 % |
| Asset management | 9.808 | 9 % | 8,89 € | 419,58 € | −16 % |
| Fee-based advice | 5.964 | 5 % | 9,43 € | 20,21 € | −22 % |
| Costs and comparison | 1.870 | 2 % | 8,23 € | 26,22 € | −12 % |
| Investing | 361 | 0 % | 7,04 € | 11,61 € | −34 % |
- Financial advice57,107
- Large assets20,827
- Robo-advisor12,082
- Asset management9,808
- Fee-based advice5,964
- Costs and comparison1,870
Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner via DataForSEO, Germany, October 2025 to September 2026, identical spellings counted once, excluding Scalable Capital
Financial advice is the largest area. A large part of it is brand searches: the five spellings of “deutsche vermögensberatung” add up to 21,308 searches per month. “finanzberater” (financial advisor) has 15,683 searches, including a one-off outlier in April 2026 with 90,500.
Asset management: few searches, high bids
“vermögensverwalter” has 3,175 searches per month at an €11.21 top bid, 38% fewer than the previous year. Google lists “vermögensverwaltung” with the same figures. The median top bid in the asset management area is €8.89.
Investors also search for specific firms: “deka vermögensverwaltung” has 534 searches at €13.75 and is growing by 94%, “commerzbank vermögensverwaltung” 203 searches at €11.17.
Fee-based advice has the highest median bid
People who explicitly look for independent advice are expensive to reach. The median top bid is €9.43, higher than in any other area:
| Search term | Searches per month | Top bid | Tailwind |
|---|---|---|---|
| unabhängiger finanzberater | 1.400 | 10,33 € | −29 % |
| honorarberater | 813 | 9,91 € | −10 % |
| honorarberatung | 598 | 10,35 € | −1 % |
| unabhängiger vermögensverwalter | 147 | 11,34 € | +64 % |
Comparison searches are rare but expensive
- beste vermögensverwalter€16.30
- deka vermögensverwaltung€13.75
- vermögensverwaltung testsieger€12.82
- vermögensverwaltung vergleich€11.89
- vermögensverwalter€11.21
- honorarberatung€10.35
Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner via DataForSEO, upper bid estimate for the top of the page
“beste vermögensverwalter” has only 223 searches per month, but the highest top bid among terms with at least 100 searches: €16.30. “vermögensverwaltung testsieger” reaches €12.82 with 251 searches, “vermögensverwaltung vergleich” €11.89 with 129 searches. For your account, we calculate with the value of a new mandate.
Digital asset management: robo-advisors are losing searches
The robo-advisor area has 12,082 searches per month, 16% fewer than the previous year. “robo advisor” itself has 3,167 searches at €8.24, “vergleich roboadvisor” 1,205 searches. Individual providers are growing: “liqid vermögensverwaltung” by 79% to 217 searches, “quirion robo advisor” by 27% to 188.
Large assets: family office and private banking
“family office” has 4,650 searches per month at a €7.35 top bid, the same as the previous year. “private banken” reaches 2,583 searches at €8.31. In private banking, searches for regional firms are growing: “berliner sparkasse private banking” by 75% to 975 searches, “commerzbank private banking” by 60% to 518.
Most investors search in January
Excluding the outlier for “finanzberater” in April 2026, demand develops as follows (index 100 = monthly average):
Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner via DataForSEO, October 2025 to September 2026, excluding the outlier “finanzberater” in April 2026
In January 2026, demand is 23% above average, in October 2025 and March 2026 13% each. In December and from June to September, it is around 10% below. We plan the budget accordingly.
AI Overviews: asset managers are cited as sources
We searched Google for 20 typical investor questions, for example “lohnt sich eine vermögensverwaltung” (is asset management worth it), “was kostet eine vermögensverwaltung” (what does asset management cost) or “honorarberater oder vermögensverwalter” (fee-based advisor or asset manager) (query on October 24, 2026). For all 20, an AI Overview appears above the search results.
The AI Overviews cite a source 59 times, spread across 38 websites:
- Asset managers and digital asset management services: Flossbach von Storch four times, for example for “lohnt sich eine vermögensverwaltung” and “was kostet eine vermögensverwaltung”. Plus HRK Lunis, Growney, Liqid, Selma and Scalable Capital.
- Finance portals and guides: Finanzfluss four times, Finanztip, justETF, Vermögenszentrum and Transparent Beraten three times each.
- Banks: Sparkasse three times, plus Deutsche Bank, VR and two Volksbanken.
33 of the 59 citations come from websites that also appear among the top five regular search results. Unlike with online brokers, Google here also cites providers themselves as sources, especially for questions about costs and benefits.
How we build online marketing for asset managers
- Separate campaigns per area. Asset management, fee-based advice, digital asset management and large assets get their own campaigns, their own budget and their own goals.
- Mandates with value. We store the value of an initial consultation and a mandate as a goal in the account so that bids steer toward these inquiries.
- Measure inquiries. We set up server-side tracking for inquiries and appointment bookings.
- Questions asked of AI systems. We determine which questions your customers ask AI systems and which providers currently appear in the answers.
- Answer pages for costs and minimum investment. For every question your customers have, we write content that AI answers use as a source, for example on costs, minimum investment and independence.
- Budget by season. More budget in January, less in December and in summer.
We exclude these searches
- Sales brands such as “deutsche vermögensberatung”, if you are not part of them
- Statements of assets, wealth tax, legal guardianship and protected assets
- Jobs, salary and training
Conclusion: fee-based advice, comparison searches and your own answer pages
Demand for asset management is small and expensive: fee-based advice has the highest median bid, and individual comparison searches cost more than €16. For all 20 investor questions, Google shows an AI Overview. Unlike with online brokers, asset managers themselves also appear there, led by Flossbach von Storch.
