ESG advertising reaches multi-year high in Europe in Q1 2026

ESG promotion accounted for 27% of all asset management advertising in Europe during Q1 2026, according to Fundamental Monitor

The promotion of ESG accounted for 27% of all asset management advertising in Europe during Q1 2026, according to data from Fundamental Monitor, up significantly from 9% in Q4 2025 and the highest share recorded across the five quarters of data.

The promotion of ETFs accounted for 13% of advertising, while equities accounted for 11% and fixed income for 5%. The promotion of multi-asset represented just 1% of overall advertising activity.

When analysing ad purpose in the region, brand campaigns accounted for 40% of all asset management advertising during Q1, down 8% from Q4 2025.

Fund promotion made up 35% of all advertising, up 5% from Q4 2025, while thought leadership insights campaigns accounted for 24%, up 1% from Q4 2025. A small proportion (1%) was classified as ‘other’.

The number of asset managers actively promoting each strategy shifted notably from Q4. Equities saw the highest number of advertisers in market with 27, up from 21 in Q4 2025, while ETF advertisers rose to 23 from 17, with a very large proportion of the ESG advertising recorded was from one advertiser: Nordea.

Fixed income saw 12 active advertisers, down from 16 in Q4. ESG and multi-asset each attracted six advertisers, unchanged from the prior quarter.

Data from Alphix Solutions shows that ETF-related content on European asset managers' websites remained the topic of greatest market signal throughout the period, though engagement declined notably from a peak of approximately 20 in late December 2025 to approximately 10 by late March 2026. Fixed income demonstrated the most resilience, maintaining a steady signal throughout Q1 2026, suggesting consistent and sustained investor interest. Equities followed a broadly similar downward trajectory to ETFs, albeit at lower signal levels, while Investment Strategy – ESG saw a brief spike in mid-February before reverting to its baseline. Multi-asset attracted the least engagement across the entire period, with signal remaining flat.

Below are some examples of the type of campaigns that were in market in Europe during Q1 2026:

Brand – Nordea:

Fund promotion – Swisscanto:

Thought leadership insights – BNY Investments:

About Fundamental Monitor:

Fundamental Monitor is our proprietary digital advertising intelligence tool that tracks the ad campaigns of over 1,000 asset managers and educational institutions across 23 markets globally, giving marketers the competitor insights they need to sharpen their strategy.