Local managers more popular among Swiss institutional investors

However, some large international players also have strong positions, research by Aureum Y revealed

Key points:

• Swiss institutional investors prefer local asset managers, although several large international brands also have strong positions in particular asset classes or management styles.
• The Swiss respondents recalled 108 unique brands and provided 440 mentions across all the asset classes and management styles prompted.
• On average, most respondents are very familiar or quite familiar with the top ten brands, with the top three being well known by more than 70% of respondents.

Swiss institutional investors prefer local asset managers, although several large international brands also have strong positions in particular asset classes or management styles, according to research by Aureum Y, Fundamental Group’s research division.

Our Switzerland Institutional Global Brand Survey 2025, which is based on the responses from 50 institutional investors in Switzerland, focuses on their perception of asset managers’ brands. We have developed a Brand Equity Index using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods across four pillars: recall, familiarity, propensity to buy and distinctiveness. 

A correlation analysis shows that the brand factors are positively correlated with each other, with some correlations being stronger than others. Unprompted brand recall was the most influential factor when it comes to purchase intentions of institutional investors in Switzerland. Prompted familiarity was a less influential factor, yet positively impacting propensity to buy.

The Swiss respondents recalled 108 unique brands and provided 440 mentions across all the asset classes and management styles prompted. When looking at the proportion of mentions across the sample, the top asset manager was mentioned at least once by 74% of respondents, while the managers in second and third place were mentioned by 45% and 42% of respondents, respectively. On average, most respondents are very familiar or quite familiar with the top ten brands, with the top three being well known by more than 70% of respondents.

While 95% of companies mentioned in propensity to buy were also recalled for specific asset classes and management styles, only 18% of the 108 recalled brands were also mentioned in propensity to buy. This suggests that while being on top of mind is key, the number of companies considered in requests for proposals (RFPs) is limited, and other factors will also play a crucial role.

For more information on our Global Brand Survey and to obtain a copy, please visit our dedicated webpage.