Fund promotion climbs to 41% of asset management advertising in Europe in Q3 2026
Key takeaways
- Fundamental Monitor data shows that fund promotion captured 41% of asset management advertising in Europe in Q3 2026, its highest share in five quarters.
- By contrast, campaigns focused on providing thought leadership insights fell to just 5% of advertising categorised by main purpose.
- When analysed by strategy, ETFs were the most promoted, accounting for 31% of advertising, a five-quarter high.
Fund promotion accounted for 41% of asset management advertising in Europe during Q3 2026, up from only 16% during the previous quarter and 14% in Q3 2025, according to Fundamental Monitor.
The Fundamental Monitor tool categorises each ad it captures by its main purpose, including fund promotion, brand, and insights. Fund promotion's 41% share is the highest that category has recorded across five quarters of data collected (the prior high was 35% in Q1 2026).
Brand campaigns' share of advertising also increased, though less dramatically, rising to 53% from 47% in Q2 2026 and finishing just below the 54% recorded in Q3 2025. Insights campaigns, built around thought leadership, fell back to 5% from a five-quarter high of 35% in the previous quarter.
The shift suggests asset managers in Europe are focusing more on promoting specific products, rather than on broader thought leadership messaging.
Strategy mix: ETF share reaches five-quarter high
ETF advertising rose to 31% of asset management advertising in Europe in Q3 2026, from 25% in Q2 2026 and just 4% in Q3 2025, the highest share across the five quarters of data. ESG followed at 18%, up from 11%, while equities rose to 7% from 2% and fixed income to 6% from 3%.
Number of active advertisers: ETFs lead across strategies
The number of asset managers actively promoting each strategy changed only modestly from Q2 2026. ETFs still drew the most advertisers with 23, down from 26. Equities followed with 22 (up from 21), fixed income with 16 (up from 14), ESG with 10 (up from eight) and multi-asset with four, unchanged.
| Strategy | Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equities | 20 | 21 | 27 | 21 | 22 |
| Fixed income | 17 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 16 |
| ETF | 16 | 17 | 23 | 26 | 23 |
| ESG/SRI | 10 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Multi asset | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
Source: Fundamental Monitor
Asset management advertising in Europe: Q3 2026 examples
Let's look at some of the actual adverts behind the Fundamental Monitor data. Below are examples of fund promotion, brand, and insights campaigns that were in market in Europe during Q3 2026:
Fund promotion advertising example: PIMCO
Brand advertising example: MFS
Insights advertising example: Allianz Global Investors
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