Marketing in the storm: why asset managers must stay visible in times of crisis

The benefits of staying the course 

Key points: 

• During uncertain times, investors want to be reassured. By proactively communicating, asset managers can provide reassurance, and foster trust and resilience. 

• Marketing in crisis isn’t about selling. It’s about signalling stability, competence, and continuity. 

• When your competitors go dark, your voice gets louder – and becomes more valuable. 

In times of market upheaval, it's natural for asset managers to consider a retreat and wait for calm seas. As companies look at tightening budgets, marketing is often one of the first departments that feels the squeeze. 

However, in slashing marketing budgets, firms risk damaging their brand. During uncertain times, investors want to be reassured. By proactively communicating, asset managers can provide reassurance, and foster trust and resilience. 

Our latest paper discusses why marketers should stay the course during a downturn, including the reasons listed below. 

Silence is riskier than the storm 

Marketing in crisis isn’t about selling. It’s about signalling stability, competence, and continuity. Your investors, whether institutional or retail, are watching closely – not just how your funds perform, but how your brand behaves. 

Marketing in downturns pays off 

Groundbreaking work from Les Binet & Peter Field showed that brands that maintain share of voice during downturns gain disproportionately – and at a lower cost. These brands typically see their market share rise post-recovery, outperforming their cautious peers. 

Your clients don’t forget – even when they’re not buying 

In asset management, 95% of clients aren’t actively shopping for new funds at any given time. But they are noticing. They are forming “memory links” – associating brands with reliability, knowledge, and reassurance. 

When they do re-enter the market, they’ll remember who was present. Who was clear. Who was calm. 

In committee decisions, your brand does the heavy lifting 

Most asset management buying is committee-driven – with an average of 6.3 stakeholders involved. Sales teams can’t reach all of them, all the time. 

Brand marketing does what sales alone can’t: it creates trust, familiarity and consensus across all decision-makers. It softens the ground long before the RFP ever lands. 

So what could marketers do?  

Reframe, reinforce, repeat. Here’s your three-part playbook for marketing through uncertainty: 

1. Reframe your messaging 

Show leadership, not salesmanship. Add perspective-driven content to your messaging: 

• “How we manage risk during global shocks” 

• “What tariffs mean for long-term equity positions” 

• “How to stay invested when the world feels uncertain” 

2. Double down on thought leadership 

Your clients crave clarity. Deliver market insights, CIO commentaries, Q&As, and explainer content across webinars, videos, infographics, and social platforms. 

This is how you own the calm, even if others own the headlines. 

3. Stay present, consistently 

Absence implies instability. Visibility signals resilience. Be there – on LinkedIn, via email, in industry publications, and through earned and paid media. 

The opportunity: while others retreat, you advance 

Only 16% of asset managers coordinate sales and marketing effectively, according to LinkedIn data. That means a massive opportunity for firms who can deliver timely, aligned, and empathetic communication. 

When your competitors go dark, your voice gets louder – and becomes more valuable. 

 So don’t just market: reassure, educate and lead. 

This is not a time to go quiet. This is a time to be useful. Be present. Be consistent. 

Marketing during a crisis is not about capitalising on fear. It’s about leading through uncertainty – offering clarity where there’s confusion, and confidence where there’s doubt. 

When the dust settles, your clients will remember who showed up. 

Download our paper below to find out more.