In global asset management, institutional investors prefer traditional marketing
Institutional investor search activity for managers has slowed amid ongoing market volatility. However, forward-looking asset managers are continuing to embrace brand-building initiatives, recognizing that market conditions will eventually shift. Webinars are well attended, but asset managers on the hunt for new clients in Europe and North America should think twice before shifting from real-life gatherings to online events.
New research from Crisil Coalition Greenwich shows online seminars are now a cornerstone of the asset management industry, providing an efficient venue for connecting asset owners and asset managers. Approximately 80% of the institutional investors taking part in our Elevating Marketing Impact Study had participated in an online seminar in the past year. In Europe, that share hit 84%, including 88% of institutional investors in the United Kingdom. Roughly three-quarters of Canadian and U.S. institutions had also participated in an online seminar in the past year.
In what might be a surprising finding, institutions attended in-person events at almost the same rates. For example, in Europe 78% of institutions had attended an in-person seminar in the past year, including 90% of midsize institutions (AUM between $1 billion and $9.9 billion).
Institutions based in continental Europe are considerably more likely to attend in-person events than their U.K. counterparts. In North America, in-person is also favored, with more than 70% attending an industry conference in the past year, and 62% attending a manager-hosted conference.
Traditional media is still the top source for insights
In both Europe and North America, institutions get most of their investment content through direct meetings and dialogue with asset managers and consultants. For insight, institutions turn to traditional media sources such as industry publications, which are read by 46% of North American institutions and 43% of institutions in Europe.
In addition, institutions seek content created and distributed by asset managers. In North America, 45% of institutions cite manager thought leadership as a key source of investment content while a third of institutions in Europe cite manager thought leadership and/or websites.
Only 1 in 5 institutions in Europe and North America name other digital content such as blogs, videos or podcasts as a key source of investment content, and less than 5% say they access investment content through social media.
