BR Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc

BlackRock maintains top position in Broadridge's Fund Brand 50 global asset manager rankings amid market volatility

LONDON, March 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest edition of Broadridge's Fund Brand 50 (FB50), an annual research study by global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) was released today, highlighting the world's best-performing third-party asset management brands. The study reveals 'green' credentials are more coveted – and more scrutinised – by European fund selectors than ever before.

"This development follows news of a European Commission clarification on funds which market themselves under the 'deepest green' Article 9 classification," said Liam Martin, Director of EMEA Insights, Broadridge. Despite this development, the incentive for firms to establish their environmental bona fides is stronger than ever, as Broadridge Fund Buyer Focus Intelligence (FBFI) reveals European fund selector sentiment appetite for ESG assets proved to be one of the sole positive areas of demand through 2022's collapse in risk appetite.

The independent study, now in its 12^th year, measures and ranks asset managers' relative brand attractiveness based on fund selector perceptions: taking into account 10 brand attributes to reveal the top global and regional brands in Europe, the U.S. and APAC. FB50 also reveals the local market brand leaders in APAC and Europe's most significant retail markets for third-party fund distribution. This is the latest study from Broadridge's Data and Analytics business and highlights the depth and breadth of the firm's global market insights.

Top-10 European Asset Management Brands

Key insights

The top-five global brands, led by BlackRock, are all industry giants in terms of both assets under management and operational scale. The top firms continue to jostle for pole position, and there has been some change at the top end of the leaderboard. The remainder of the top-50 list sees selector's favourite companies run the gamut, from niche product and local market specialists to the major one-stop-shop providers.

In the wake of the announcement of the European Commission's clampdown on 'greenwashing', ESG credentials are vital to fund buyers.

This provides asset managers with a chance to translate 'green' credentials into a genuine competitive advantage. This year's FB50 study shows that positive perceptions of a firm's ESG credentials can have an outsized impact on the success of smaller managers. Firms who have their Article 9 credentials revoked run the risk of reputational damage.

But ESG isn't the only shift affecting fund buyer sentiment. High-performing pandemic-era growth strategies are beginning to suffer course correction, which in some cases has led to managers sharply dropping down the leaderboard. An extensive re-rating of former growth market beneficiaries is likely to define the next few years.

In some cases, the reputational damage was along extreme lines: firms facing scandal, criminal proceedings or significant exposure to Russia all suffered steep drops down the leaderboard. We are clearly in a new era of ethical investing, where fund buyers will not maintain relationships with firms whose activities fail to meet their moral standards, regardless of fund performance.

Valued attributes

European selectors valued 'Client-orientated thinking' as the most important brand attribute, ahead of last year's favourite, 'Appealing investment strategy'. Clearly a year of upheaval has led fund buyers to feel more comfortable when they are the focus of attention, with selectors placing a high value on those they can trust to respond and meet their needs. Despite the rise of new metrics for measuring asset manager value, good client service never goes out of fashion.

The rest of the top five was as follows: 'Appealing invest strategy, 'Expert in what they do', 'Keeping best informed' and 'Innovation/adaptation to change' – revealing some changes in preference from last year's ranking.

Additional findings from this year's study include:

• Expert reputation drove the fastest-rising brands in Europe: whether the magic touch of a maverick founder; an unorthodox mixture of star-led and qualitative teams; or stock-selection-focused active managers with strong 'green' credentials, firms enjoying positive fund buyer perceptions of expertise made up ground on larger asset managers as they shot up the rankings.
• With many European fund buyers facing SFDR headaches, firms with strong communications and disclosure capabilities found themselves enjoying a major competitive advantage.

About the research

The Broadridge Fund Brand 50 report is an annual study monitoring the influence of brand on third-party fund selection. The study is based on intensive interviews with more than 1,200 of the most significant fund selectors in Europe, the US and APAC. Fund selectors name their top-three suppliers across 10 brand attributes.

These attributes are as follows:

• Client-oriented thinking
• Appealing investment strategy
• Expert in what they do
• Keeping best informed
• Innovation/adaptation to market change
• Stability of investment management team
• Solidity
• Key international player
• Local knowledge
• Social responsibility/sustainability

These answers, as well as commentary from other preference questions, are collated using statistical analysis and transformed into a 'Total Brand Score', on which groups are ranked.

Asset managers, consultants and other industry stakeholders interested in receiving the in-depth Broadridge Fund Brand 50 analysis can make their request via the Fund Brand 50 information page.

About Broadridge

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader with $5 billion in revenues, provides the critical infrastructure that powers investing, corporate governance, and communications to enable better financial lives. We deliver technology-driven solutions that drive business transformation for banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers, and public companies. Broadridge's infrastructure serves as a global communications hub enabling corporate governance by linking thousands of public companies and mutual funds to tens of millions of individual and institutional investors around the world. Our technology and operations platforms underpin the daily trading of more than US$9 trillion of equities, fixed income, and other securities globally. A certified Great Place to Work^®, Broadridge is part of the S&P 500^® Index, employing over 13,000 associates in 21 countries. For more information about us, please visit broadridge.com.

Media Contacts:

Europe
Hannah Polson
Cognito
+44 (0) 7974 244217
BroadridgeEMEA@cognitomedia.com

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