Record number of asset managers promoting fixed income in Europe

Fixed income advertising made up almost a quarter of all asset management advertising during Q2 2024, data by Fundamental Monitor shows

Key points:

• At 29, the number of fixed income advertisers was at its highest level since the start of 2020.
• Fixed income advertising saw a significant boost during the second quarter, accounting for 24% of all advertising, the highest figure seen since Q2 2022.
• Asset managers dedicated a higher amount of their advertising to the promotion of insights while the share of advertising focused on fund promotion dropped.

A record number of asset managers were promoting fixed income in Europe during Q2 2024, allocating 24% of their overall advertising to the promotion of this asset class, according to data from Fundamental Monitor.

All key strategies saw an increase in the number of asset managers actively advertising. At 29, the number of fixed income advertisers was at its highest level since the start of 2020. The number of ETF advertisers doubled from 7 in Q1 to 15 in Q2, while 25 asset managers were promoting equities.

Fixed income advertising saw a significant boost during the second quarter, accounting for 24% of all advertising, the highest figure seen since Q2 2022. Meanwhile, ETF advertising made up 11% of all asset management advertising, up from 6% in Q1 2024, while multi asset saw an increase from 1% to 5% during the same period.

However, data from Alphix Solutions, Fundamental Group’s marketing technology business, shows that audience consumption of content on asset managers’ websites was lower during Q2 2024 compared to the 365-day rolling average for all five key strategies.

Throughout the quarter, depending on the week, equities content consumption was down by between 50% and 63%, ESG between 39% and 52%, fixed income between 36% and 51% and ETFs between 39% and 57%. Multi-asset saw the lowest decreases, with decreases between 31% and 62% during the first half of the quarter which improved to between 10% and 29% during the last six weeks of Q2.

During Q2 2024, asset managers dedicated a higher amount of their advertising to the promotion of insights (41% compared to 24% in Q1 2024) while the share of advertising focused on fund promotion dropped from 33% to 16% during the same period.

Below are some examples of the type of campaigns that were in market in Europe during Q2 2024:

Brand campaign – PIMCO

Insights promotion – Pictet

Fixed income – Capital Group

ETFs – J.P. Morgan Asset Management