ESG advertising in APAC swings to fund promotion in Q2 2026

The promotion of specific funds accounted for almost all of ESG asset management advertising in APAC during the second quarter of 2026, according to Fundamental Monitor, the digital advertising intelligence tool. 

Fund promotion became the dominant category for ESG asset management advertising in APAC in Q2 2026, accounting for 98% of impressions captured by Fundamental Monitor, which categorises each ad by its main purpose, including brand, insights, and fund promotion.

The swing towards fund promotion advertising in Asia Pacific was driven mainly by a single firm, while one other asset manager contributed a smaller amount. It also represents a near total reversal from Q1, when thought leadership insights led ESG advertising in the region with an 80% share, brand campaigns held 20%, and fund promotion registered no measurable activity at all.

In the second quarter of 2026, insights only mustered 2% and brand campaigns disappeared from the region's ESG advertising mix entirely. This marks a different trajectory from Europe, where brand campaigns held a 92% share, only a modest decline from Q1.

Which markets are driving ESG advertising in APAC in Q2 2026? 

Three advertisers were active in ESG advertising in APAC in Q2 2026, the same number as in Q1. Each of these firms concentrated its activity entirely within a single market, spread across Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, with one advertiser active in each. Australia, India, Japan and Korea all recorded no ESG advertising activity on Fundamental Monitor.

ESG remains both a concentrated and niche part of APAC asset management advertising, capturing only around 3% of overall impressions tracked by Fundamental Monitor in Q2 2026. Still, that marks an increase from just 0.24% the previous quarter.

ESG advertising in APAC: Q2 2026 at a glance

• Fund promotion: 98% of ESG advertising volume, up from 0% in Q1.
• Thought leadership insights: 2%, a sharp fall from an 80% share in Q1.

• Brand campaigns: absent from the mix in Q2, having held 20%.
• ESG advertisers: 3, unchanged from Q1.
• ESG's share of total APAC advertising volume: around 3%, up from around 0.24% in Q1.

Below are some examples of ESG advertising in APAC in Q2 2026 across the categories of fund promotion and insights: 

Fund promotion: BNP Paribas

Insights: Federated Hermes

About Fundamental Monitor

Fundamental Monitor is our proprietary digital advertising intelligence tool that tracks the ad campaigns of over 1,600 asset managers and educational institutions across 23 markets globally, giving marketers the competitor insights they need to sharpen their strategy.