ESG advertising drops to record low in Europe

Asset managers dedicated only 1% of their total advertising to the promotion of ESG in Q2 2025, data by Fundamental Monitor shows

Key points:

• ESG advertising accounted for only 1% of overall asset management advertising in Europe during Q2 2025, a record low and down from 3% in Q1.
• Only 16 out of a total of 104 asset management advertisers included any ESG messaging in their advertising.
• All countries saw some ESG messaging, with the most advertisers active in the UK (12).

ESG advertising accounted for only 1% of overall asset management advertising in Europe during Q2 2025, a record low and down from 3% in Q1, according to data from Fundamental Monitor.

Only 16 out of a total of 104 asset management advertisers included any ESG messaging in their advertising. These 16 asset managers dedicated 10% of their total advertising budget to the promotion of responsible investing, down from 15% in Q1. Five asset managers only focused on ESG advertising in Q2: Sycomore Asset Management, AXA Investment Managers, First Sentier Investors, Eden Tree Investment Management and CCLA.

ESG fund promotion accounted for 40% of all ESG advertising, up from 33% in Q1. ESG brand campaigns dropped from 41% to 34%, while ESG thought leadership remained unchanged at 26%.

All countries saw some ESG messaging, with the most advertisers active in the UK (12), followed by France and Germany (9 each). Eight asset managers were promoting ESG in Italy, Spain and Switzerland, while seven ESG advertisers were in market in Benelux and the Nordics.

Below are some examples of the type of ESG campaigns that were in market in Europe during Q2 2025:

BNY Investments

Nordea Asset Management

BNP Paribas Asset Management