Spanish intermediaries prefer personable asset managers

Fundamental Media research finds intermediaries in Spain have a preference for managers they perceive as personable rather than corporate

Key points:

• Financial intermediaries in Spain are more likely to buy funds from asset management firms they perceive as personable rather than those perceived as corporate.
• Spanish intermediaries’ belief in an asset manager’s ability to generate returns (perceived quality) is the main consideration when buying a fund.
• The top ten of the Brand Equity Index in Spain is mostly made up of global players.

Spanish financial intermediaries are more likely to buy funds from asset management firms they perceive as personable rather than those perceived as corporate, according to research by Fundamental Media. This is a shift from 2021, when no brand value stood out as particularly strongly correlated with propensity to buy.

This is one of the key findings from the Spain Global Brand Survey 2024, which is based on the responses from 156 financial intermediaries in Spain. To understand their perception of asset managers’ brands, we have developed a Brand Equity Index using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods across five pillars: recall, familiarity, perceived quality, propensity to buy and distinctiveness.

The propensity to buy score assesses the likelihood to increase the use of funds provided by that particular asset manager. When correlating this score with those from the other four brand factors, we see that Spanish financial intermediaries’ belief in an asset manager’s ability to generate returns (perceived quality) is the main consideration when buying a fund. Perceived quality has the strongest correlation to propensity to buy, followed by brand recall. 

Brand distinctiveness is correlated to familiarity but can be linked to both positive and negative associations with brands, explaining the weak correlation to propensity to buy. However, when looking at single components of the distinctiveness score, some values will be more likely to drive propensity to buy than others.

The score for distinctiveness as a brand factor took into consideration scores for 14 brand values. When looking at how these brand values affect the propensity to buy, Spanish intermediaries are most likely to buy funds from asset managers which they consider to be personable, qualitative, broad, energetic/fast-paced and analytical.

Qualitative analysis of comments on different asset managers revealed that financial intermediaries in Spain provided more positive comments for those asset management firms that scored high on the brand values ‘broad’, ‘qualitative’ and ‘personable’ rather than those perceived as ‘targeted’, ‘quantitative’ and ‘corporate’.

Although global brands dominate the top ten of the Brand Equity Index, there are a number of local players that are well known for specific asset classes and management styles. At least one local manager was present in the top three most recalled brands for Spanish equities, European equities, fixed income, alternatives, passive management and sustainable investing.

For access to the full report, contact [email protected]