"We are focused on being the easiest asset manager for clients to work with, and we believe that A.I. will help unlock some of that ease of experience."

Kate C. Burke Allspring Global Investments CEO, Board Member

Kate Burke, the new CEO of Allspring Global Investments [profile], shared that perspective today as part of a broader update at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based fund firm's 2026 outlook media luncheon. The event, held at Andaz in New York City, also featured remarks from Ann Miletti (head of equity investments and chief diversity officer), Mike Smith (senior portfolio manager and head of growth equity), Bryan VanCronkhite (senior PM and co-head of special global equity), George Bory (chief investment strategist for fixed income), Janet Rilling (senior PM and head of plus fixed income), and Melissa Murphy (head of public relations).

Allspring now has a team of more than 1,325 employees across 19 offices, and as of the end of Q3 the firm had $629 billion in AUMA. Burke offers some insight as to where Allspring's team is expanding.

"We are certainly continuing to invest in our distribution efforts," Burke tells MFWire, adding that they're building out their RIA distribution team in particular. "We're really focused on how do we help provide value."

In terms of product development, Burke highlighted Allspring's entrance (in late 2024) into the ETF side of the business, and notes that Allspring's ETF lineup has since expanded to eight funds and more than $1 billion in AUM.

"We're continuing along our vehicle-agnostic approach," Burke says, adding they'll be further expanding their ETF and separate account businesses in 2026.

That expansion may be both organic and inorganic. Burke reveals an interest in purchasing perhaps a smaller ETF provider or SMA shop. She describes such possible deals as ways to help the Allspring team scale its SMA or ETF platforms more quickly.

In terms of investment capabilities, Burke notes that Allspring continues to be "really focused on the public markets," i.e. equities, fixed income, money-markets, and multi-asset solutions. Yet she says there are at least two gaps she's looking to fill, perhaps via a liftout or a "tuck-in acquisition": emerging market debt, and global equity.

As for taking advantage of artificial intelligence, she says she expects generative A.I. to provide a nine-percent efficiency improvement. She also reveals one area in which Allspring is developing its own proprietary A.I. tools: "the automation of ... fund performance data."

"That is a place where we're currently leveraging A.I. and doing experimentation," Burke says. 

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