ESG advertising in APAC at lowest level since 2020

Asset managers dedicated only 0.27% of their APAC advertising to ESG promotion during Q1 2025, data by Fundamental Monitor found

Key points:

• Only 0.27% of all asset management advertising in the APAC region in Q1 2025 focused on the promotion of responsible investing, down from 7% in Q4 2024.
• There were 90 asset managers advertising in the region during Q1, but only six of them included some ESG messaging in their advertising.
• Thought leadership continues to be the main ad purpose of ESG advertising, although it dropped slightly from 73% in Q4 to 68% in Q1.

Only 0.27% of all asset management advertising in the APAC region in Q1 2025 focused on the promotion of responsible investing, down from 7% in Q4 2024, according to data by Fundamental Monitor.

This is the lowest level seen since the start of 2020, when Fundamental Monitor started monitoring asset managers’ advertising activity in the region.

There were 90 asset managers advertising in the region during Q1, but only six of them included some ESG messaging in their advertising. Qualitas Energy was the only advertiser who solely focused on ESG in their advertising.

These six advertisers dedicated 6% of their advertising to ESG promotion, also down from Q4, when the active ESG advertisers dedicated 32% of their advertising budget to ESG advertising.

Thought leadership continues to be the main ad purpose of ESG advertising, although it dropped slightly from 73% in Q4 to 68% in Q1. ESG brand campaigns accounted for 22% (up from 1% in Q4) and ESG fund promotion for 10% (down from 26%).

Below are some examples of the type of ESG campaigns that were in market in APAC during Q1 2025:

AXA Investment Managers

BNP Paribas Asset Management

Qualitas Energy