Broadridge Financial Solutions’s Fund Brand 50, which is on its tenth year, is an annual independent study that measures asset managers’ relative brand attractiveness based on fund selector perceptions across 10 brand drivers, revealing the best 50 global and regional brands in Apac, Europe and the US.
The study is based on interviews with 1,200 fund selectors in the three regions. Fund selectors were asked to name their top-three suppliers based on 10 brand drivers, which include appealing investment strategy, client-oriented thinking, innovation and solidity.
Blackrock led the Asia-Pacific rankings, followed by asset management giants JP Morgan Asset Management and Fidelity. While the top 10 mostly included US or European asset managers, Asian firms were also included on the top 50 list, such as Nomura Asset Management (ranked 15), China Asset Management (17) and Mirae Asset Global Investments (18), Broadridge said.
Meanwhile, Apac’s top three also led Broadridge’s global rankings, according to a report from the firm.
Top 10 asset management brands ranked by share of total brand score
| Rank | Asia-Pacific top 10 | Global top 10 |
| 1 | Blackrock | Blackrock |
| 2 | JP Morgan Asset Management | JP Morgan Asset Management |
| 3 | Fidelity | Fidelity |
| 4 | Alliance Bernstein | Capital Group |
| 5 | Allianz Global Investors | Vanguard |
| 6 | Pimco | Pimco |
| 7 | Axa Investment Managers | Pictet Asset Management |
| 8 | Franklin Templeton | T Rowe Price |
| 9 | Vanguard | Franklin Templeton |
| 10 | Schroders | Allianz Global Investors |
Within the global rankings, 50% of the firms are based in the US, while European and Asia-Pacific firms accounted for 38% and 12% of the top 50 list, respectively.
While the global top 10 is dominated by industry giants, the overall list of 50 firms also included niche specialists, Broadridge noted. Brand drivers also varied across the regions. European fund selectors weighted product and client service elements as most important, while in Asia-Pacific and the US, the firm’s strength and client focus were more important.
“While the drivers of brand were unique in each region, the most successful asset managers were all able to differentiate themselves to fund selectors,” Mauro Baratta, vice president for distribution insight at Broadridge, said in the report.
“Those with scale and a wrap-around service provided the comfort blanket of robustness and reliability. At the same time, several investment specialist firms thrived with unique, high-conviction strategies drawing attention and recognition from distributors and end-investors,” he added.
Additional findings from the study include that building brand recognition through digital and social media was increasingly important in Asia-Pacific to engage with younger tech-savvy audiences. Meanwhile, managers with distinctive “green” credentials were notably popular in Europe.
