ETF advertising still most popular in North America, despite slight drop

Equities was promoted more often than fixed income, Fundamental Monitor data shows

Key points:

• During Q4 2021, more than half of all advertising in North America was dedicated to ETFs, but this fell to 49% in Q1 and has since dropped to 33%
• In contrast to Europe and Asia Pacific, where fixed income was promoted more often than equities, Q2 saw substantially more advertising for equities than fixed income in North America
• ETFs saw the most active advertisers (27) followed by ESG with 21 active advertisers

The popularity of ETF advertising in North America fell further during Q2, data by Fundamental Monitor indicates. During Q4 2021, more than half of all advertising in North America was dedicated to ETFs, but this fell to 49% in Q1 and has since dropped to 33%. Nevertheless, ETFs continue to be the most popular of all the key strategies monitored.

In contrast to Europe and Asia Pacific, where fixed income was promoted more often than equities, Q2 saw substantially more advertising for equities than fixed income in North America. Both strategies saw a slight increase compared to Q1 and stood at 24% for equities and 7% for fixed income.

ETFs saw the most active advertisers (27) followed by ESG with 21 active advertisers. Despite the high number of asset managers actively promoting responsible investing, it continues to be a tiny proportion of the North American advertising market at only 2%.

The split across ad purposes has barely shifted in North America during Q2: fund promotion continues to be the most prevalent at 41%, followed by insights (32%) and brand (27%).

Below are some examples of the campaigns that were in market in North America during Q2:

Invesco – fund promotion

Parametric – insights

Fidelity – brand

Global X Funds – ETFs

Putnam Investments – equities