Brand campaigns slightly up in North America in Q3

ETFs remain by far the most popular advertised investment strategy, while fixed income falls in popularity

Key points:

• Ad purpose percentages remained relatively stable in North America during Q3
• For the fifth quarter in a row close to half of all advertising volume in North America was for ETFs
• Despite asset managers focusing more of their advertising on equities than on fixed income during Q3, the number of advertisers active for both asset classes is the same

Ad purpose percentages remained relatively stable in North America during Q3, according to data by Fundamental Monitor.

Fund promotions were rock steady at 48%, while brand campaigns increased slightly from 33% to 36% and insights were slightly down from 17% to 13%.

ETFs remain by far the most popular investment strategy. For the fifth quarter in a row close to half of all advertising volume in North America was for ETFs. While advertising for equities increased slightly to 33%, fixed income advertising dropped further in Q3 to only 3%. Advertising for ESG continues to be significantly lower in North America than in Europe and APAC, but grew slightly in Q3, creeping up to 3% of total advertising volume.

Despite asset managers focusing more of their advertising on equities than on fixed income during Q3, the number of advertisers active for both asset classes is the same (12 advertisers). Meanwhile, 14 asset managers advertised their ESG offering and 18 advertisers were actively promoting ETFs.

Below are a few examples of the type of campaigns asset managers were running in North America during Q3.

T. Rowe Price – Brand campaign

State Street Global Advisors – Insights campaign

Invesco – Fund promotion

Global X Funds – ETFs

T. Rowe Price – Equities