Competition is rife in asset management, so what should marketers turn to? As it turns out, the good old fashioned brand-builder of thought leadership.
TL;DR: support brand credibility before the next fund launch.
The knowledge and esteem of a brand’s image can be extremely favourable to a decision-maker. Not only for B2C circles to purchase the next mobile phone or fancy jacket, but also in alternatives, where trust breeds investor confidence.
Nasdaq’s 2026 Global Voice of the Issuer study found that, from over 400 senior product professionals at asset managers and insurers, fund distribution and differentiation trumped what the survey was intended to explore most: product development and index partnerships.
55% of the respondents named brand credibility and recognition as the most valuable competitive differentiator, ahead of unique product decision and structural innovation (46%), pricing (42%) and sales distribution capability (42%).
If it was not hard enough that the product-builders themselves are sceptical in the decision-making power of their own products, two-thirds of asset managers think new product launches fail to gather meaningful assets in what the majority of respondents see as an overwhelmingly crowded market.
A significant factor constraining scale seems to be distribution, especially in the Americas (cited by 54% of firms.) Just over half still depend on wealth platform home-office approvals to get anywhere at all.
The curious case of AI during product development is also involved. In fact, it is used by 80% of managers somewhere along the line. Only a quarter or so deploy it across multiple stages, though.
The idea of AI usage for go-to market messaging is particularly contentious; believed to be a useful feature by 63%, where a minority in Europe believe talking about AI alludes to a firm’s experimentation phase rather than expertise.
So, what does this mean for fund marketers?
The three main responses considered by these firms sit under the fund marketing umbrella: data-driven targeting, greater digital distribution, and more investment into adviser education.
Thought leadership still reigns, it seems! If products do not ‘talk the talk’ when launching, marketing budget conversations should turn to building essential credibility in the brand itself: away from product-based collateral, and toward named-author thought leadership. This produces that consistent expert brand voice over months and years, rather than weeks.
Plus, with 53% of firms seeing the wealthy home office as the real gatekeeper, there is an argument for measuring marketing based on pipeline and platform-approval outcomes too.
As with most AI discussion, the choice to use it for allocator communications will split the room. However it is adopted, evidence around its use within product development and marketing should be cited (particularly by the 80% using it in some way), as another way to bolster a firm’s commitment to transparency that allocators will spot in the crowd.
Sources
Nasdaq Inc, 2026 Global Voice of the Issuer Study
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