Selectors in the region also identified “approachable and knowledgeable specialists” as key to their choices, with “expert in what they do” and “keeping best informed” ranked next in brand attributes, according to the Broadridge Fund Brand 50 study
“There were a range of winners in the eyes of fund selectors, and no single strategy prevailed. Instead, groups saw success with a variety of different models: from the supermarket-style offerings of larger firms to smaller managers who built value propositions around excellence at storytelling or carved out a niche as smaller investment specialists,” said Chris Chancellor, vice president, distribution insight, Broadridge.
Coming on the top is Blackrock, which topped the charts for all regions: Apac, Europe, US, and globally.
It is followed by JP Morgan AM and Fidelity, which ranked second and third in all regions except the US. Ranking eighth in Asia Pacific, Nomura AM is the only asset manager based in Asia on the list.
The annual survey asked 1,200 fund selectors around the world to name their top-three suppliers across 10 brand attributes.
Combining these answers with commentary from other preference questions, the data is transformed into a “total brand score” to decide the top asset management brands.
The top global brands are all industry giants in terms of both assets under management and operational scale, said Broadridge, but the diversity of the firms that make up each of the regional top 50 lists demonstrates that it is not only scale that matters to fund selectors.
ESG investing
Driven by end-investor demand, the interest in sustainability and thematic fund providers intensified across all regions, the Broadridge survey found.
While interest in ESG is on the rise in Apac, so too are concerns around greenwashing.
Fund selectors also expressed concern about the profitability of these investments in local markets, particularly Japan.
“The growing prevalence of ESG in the asset management space redefined prospects for brand engagement and established a new kind of relationship between client and manager built along ideological lines,” said Chancellor.
