June 20, 2023 | Stamford, CT — The most effective thought leadership in asset management takes the form of short, punchy content, focusing on economic insights and investment ideas, delivered by email, on a weekly or monthly basis.
New research, Maximizing the Return on Thought Leadership from Coalition Greenwich, identifies the thought leadership strategies and techniques that give asset managers the best chance of winning the attention of institutional asset owners.
Asset managers working to build brands, create sales leads and win clients with thought leadership face a daunting challenge. The typical asset owner subscribes to the mailing lists of only six asset managers—and most of those are managers with existing mandates.
“Winning a spot on those short subscription lists puts a manager in a strong position to expand its relationship and cross-sell other strategies,” says Mark Buckley, Head of Investment Management at Coalition Greenwich. “However, with the typical asset owner receiving hundreds of messages per day, breaking through the noise and establishing a thought leadership relationship with an investor or potential investor can incredibly difficult.”
Focus on Economic, Market and Asset Class Insights, But Don’t Forget the Basics
One of the most important things asset managers look for in their crowded in-boxes are investment managers that they recognize as consistent sources of useful information and insights. At the top of the list of success factors is being able to approach asset owners with an existing reputation as an innovative thinker.
In terms of content, 87% of asset owners are looking for broad market perspective with a focus on economic updates and market insights, 60% prefer new investment ideas, and 57% seek research on specific asset classes.
“No matter how compelling the content, asset managers will not attract wide readership if they fall short on communications fundamentals such as a compelling subject line, optimal length and content that is easy to digest,” says Mark Buckley.
Prioritize Print and Video
Asset managers contemplating how to allocate marketing and thought leadership budgets should prioritize written materials, which are the medium of choice for three quarters of the asset owners participating in the Coalition Greenwich study. Asset owners generally prefer written content that is five pages or less. Webinars are very popular with a quarter of investors and this is the clear second medium for the majority of asset owners. Regardless of medium, all content should start with a concise summary that allows an investor to understand the basics quickly.