Six global players in top ten most popular managers among Dutch institutional investors

Dutch institutional investors are more open to international managers compared to European peers, research by Aureum Y finds

Key points:

• Six out of ten strongest asset management brands in the Netherlands are international players.
• Dutch institutional investors recalled 87 unique brands and provided 371 mentions across all fifteen asset classes and management styles prompted.
• The top three brands are well known among more than 60% of respondents.

Institutional investors in the Netherlands are more open to global asset managers than their counterparts in other European countries, as six out of ten strongest asset management brands are international, according to research by Aureum Y, the research division of Fundamental Group.

Our Dutch Institutional Global Brand Survey 2025, which is based on the responses from 46 institutional investors in the Netherlands, 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. 

Dutch institutional investors recalled 87 unique brands and provided 371 mentions across all fourteen asset classes and management styles prompted. The top two managers were equally mentioned at least once by 52% of respondents.

Brand recall is positively correlated to propensity to buy, with all the companies mentioned in propensity to buy also being recalled for specific asset classes and management styles. However, only 29% of the 87 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.

Familiarity was also positively correlated to propensity to buy, but less influential than brand recall. Most Dutch respondents are very familiar or quite familiar with less than a third of the asset managers prompted, especially established local and global companies. The top three brands are well known among more than 60% of respondents.

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