Equities advertising at record low levels in Europe

Q4 2022 saw a collapse in the promotion of equities but a marked rise in all other main asset classes

Key points:

• The promotion of equities has dropped significantly in Europe during Q4 to stand at only 2% of the total asset management advertising volume
• Brand campaigns are still the most popular type of campaign, accounting for 46% of all advertising in Q4
• Despite the collapse in the percentage of advertising dedicated to the promotion of equities, there were still 18 asset managers promoting this asset class

The promotion of equities has dropped significantly in Europe during Q4 to stand at only 2% of the total asset management advertising volume, data by Fundamental Monitor shows.

This is the lowest percentage seen for this asset class since we started monitoring asset managers’ advertising behaviour at the start of 2020. Meanwhile, all the other main asset classes saw a small rise. Fixed income made up 10% of all advertising in Q4, up from 8% in Q3. ETF advertising also saw an increase of two percentage points to 5%, while the promotion of multi asset rose from 3% in Q3 to 4% in Q4. ESG advertising dropped significantly from the 44% seen in Q4 2021 but has remained stable during 2022, standing at 18% in Q4.

Brand campaigns are still the most popular type of campaign, accounting for 46% of all advertising in Q4, down slightly from 47% a quarter earlier. This is followed by fund promotion at 30%, up from 21%, and insights, down to 23% from 32% in Q3.

Despite the collapse in the percentage of advertising dedicated to the promotion of equities, there were still 18 asset managers promoting this asset class during Q4. This is a higher figure than the 16 fixed income advertisers and 12 ETF advertisers active in the European market that quarter. 

Below are some examples of the type of campaigns that were in market in Europe during Q4 of 2022:

Brand – Blackstone

Fund promotion – Allianz Global Investors

Insights – American Century Investments

Fixed income – Nordea Asset Management 

ETFs – WisdomTree