Asset managers promoting more insights in APAC during Q4

Brand campaigns and fund promotion have become less popular in the region in favour of insights

Key points:

• Asset managers have shifted their advertising in Asia Pacific towards promoting insights during Q4 of 2021
• The percentage of advertising focused on ESG has increased from 19% in Q3 to 28% in Q4, the highest ever
• During Q4 there were more advertisers promoting ESG in the region than ever before

Asset managers have shifted their advertising in Asia Pacific towards promoting insights during Q4 of 2021, data by Fundamental Media shows.

While insights made up only 15% of advertising during Q3, it accounted for 36% in Q4, with many advertisers talking about prospects for the coming year in terms of what economic recovery post-pandemic will look like. Meanwhile, brand campaigns made up only 27% during Q4, down from 44% a quarter earlier, while fund promotion dropped from 40% to 35%.

The percentage of advertising focused on ESG has increased from 19% in Q3 to 28% in Q4, the highest ever. Asset managers also focused more on advertising ETFs (11% vs 9%), while traditional asset classes fell out of favour. The percentage focused on equities and fixed income dropped from 13% to 5% and from 11% to 8%, respectively.

During Q4 there were more advertisers promoting ESG in the region than ever before: 28 advertisers, double that of Q2. The number of advertisers promoting equities (20) and fixed income (14) remained stable compared to Q3, while two more advertisers promoted ETFs in Q4 and six asset managers advertised multi-asset. 

While ESG continues to be heavily promoted, other research by Fundamental Media shows that there is not yet any sign of ESG fatigue among professional and end investors. On the contrary: ESG continued to be one of the topics with the highest level of engagement on social media during 2021.

Below are some examples of the campaigns that were in market in Asia Pacific during Q4 2021:

BNP Paribas – Brand campaign

Allianz Global Investors – Insights

VanEck – Fund promotion

Amundi – ESG

State Street Global Advisors – ETFs