Welcome to our asset management marketing roundup
Asset managers are increasingly looking to embrace digital, offering innovative ways to engage with investors who are looking to trust those that are up to speed. From marketing funds on new look websites and social media accounts, to video marketing and written blogs, we here at Kurtosys scour the web to find the very best industry-specific examples of fund marketing and industry movers and shakers to save you the hard work.
This week’s round up brings you the latest industry movers, an AI fund launch, and the start of a new behavioural economics series.
Movers & Shakers
Guillaume Abel
Is now ➜ Head of Business Development & Member of the Executive Board at La Banque Postale Asset Management
Was: Global Head of Marketing & Member of the Executive Committee at Candriam
Elena Bottino
Is now ➜ Head of EMEA Marketing at Morgan Stanley
Was: Head of International Marketing at Pioneer Investments
Larry Harris
Is now ➜ Vice President – Digital Platforms at Morgan Stanley
Was: Director of CRM Strategy at Prudential Financial
Chris Parmigiani
Is now ➜ Executive Director, Program Management, Goals Based Wealth Management Platform at Morgan Stanley
Was: Vice President, Practice Lead, Business Process Improvement (BPI) at T. Rowe Price
Kurtosys expresses their best wishes to all starting in their new positions.
Website Spotlight: Krane Shares
Krane Funds Advisors, LLC is another investment management firm making use of a well designed ETF-specific site: Krane Shares ETFs. These funds are intended to expose investors to the importance of China in global markets.
One of the main draws of its home page is that it focuses primarily on the link between China’s financial links with the United States through a prominently placed blog post, followed by the products on offer: the key feature for any ETF micro-site. These products are listed with clear call-to-action buttons and are also assigned relevant codes. This alignment of data with content is a key feature we’ve talked about before, and Krane Shares provide an excellent example here.
The rest of the homepage features infographics to display how Krane Shares works, which are succinct enough to stop the linear page running on for too long. The main drop-down box from the top toolbar is so thorough that all the information is displayed without having to sift through various external links. Most impressively is the ‘Products’ section whereby the product pages, explanatory presentations and webinars and fund factsheets are all listed and ordered according to the funds’ codes. External PDFs can be opened straight from the toolbar, which is a wonderful feature to boost UX.
Not only this, but the ETF pages follow in a similarly thorough vein, delving into great detail about each fund’s overview, strategy, daily performance, performance history etcetera etcetera. There are also some boldly presented pie charts for visual fans.
The popularity of ETFs therefore seems to stem from how well designed their sites are, with Krane Shares being exemplary in its emphasis on user experience, besides its other successful design features.
Fund in Focus: Polar Capital Automation and Artificial Intelligence Fund
As both the 25th fund in this investment manager’s product range, and the first under a new CEO, Polar Capital’s Automation and Artificial Intelligence Fund steals the fund launch limelight this week.
Always keen to scout the financial world’s bold steps to adopt futurist technology, we’re glad to see the launch of an AI fund. Research-based investment manager Polar Capital are striving to, in the words of manager Xuesong Zhao, “navigate investors through the impact of artificial intelligence”. The portfolio will focus on four themes, these being industrial automation, artificial intelligence, robots and materials science.
The fund will also invest in 50 to 80 stocks, and the firm has been investing in such robotic technologies for years. Polar are looking for the fund to have most exposure in Japan and Europe, where automation and AI technology is developing the most.
It’s an exciting time for AI within the investment space, and this big-time launch has really brought the technology to the fore once again.
Further information: What Investment | Investment Week
Industry Insights
Each year, we conduct a survey to discover exactly what the current plans, strategies and trends amongst digital marketers are in the financial industry. This year we had almost 300 respondents.
The most startling statistic we found was that 48% of respondents think that regulation will be the most disruptive force within the industry, even above such factors as successful fintech companies and developments in blockchain technology.
Giving many insights into preferred features of fund websites, increased spending on security and content marketing, and methods of fund data distribution, you can download the whole report at this landing page.
Events
Sibos 2017 Toronto OCTOBER 16TH – 19TH 2017 | TORONTO
Almost 40 years strong, Sibos has been a leading conference in the financial industry. This year, the theme ‘Building for the Future’ has been chosen to focus on such issues as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and regulatory changes, amongst others. The many discussion panels will also be structured around four ‘streams’, which are: Banking; Compliance; Securities; and Technology. Set in the wonderful Canadian city of Toronto, it’s a chance for all concerned with the future of finance to learn exactly what is happening, and what will happen.
Due Diligence 101: What Investors Really Want OCTOBER 17TH | LONDON
Back in London, and more specifically the heart of the city – Moorgate – is an event based around
the key concept of due diligence, one that is mandatory for businesses but often gets swept under the rug. Even the basics of meeting compliance can be fraught with dangers, so a more widespread knowledge of what investors are looking for from companies is crucial. Next Tuesday night, make sure you’re here.
Social Media Spotlight: Fidelity Investments
With their trademark lime green and white colour scheme, Fidelity Investments has a pretty eye-popping Twitter page already, but they also succeed in the effectiveness of their content.
The financial advisory firm hosts various webcasts and Q&A style interviews as part of their content marketing strategy, and they advertise these in various ways.
Take, for instance, a ‘Twitter card’ to promote a PDF formatted interview with portfolio manager Will Danoff. The picture used lends a more personal, human touch to the content…
Get the latest Q&A with our portfolio manager Will Danoff. Download the PDF here: https://t.co/VvXEkPun0K pic.twitter.com/ojNaiOHiKt
— Fidelity Investments (@Fidelity) September 29, 2017
…whilst this recorded ‘webcast’ made use of a video to bring it to a Twitter user’s attention…
Will Social Security be there for you? Watch our webcast to get your questions answered: https://t.co/BpmT7oTpoW pic.twitter.com/SoAEwTOBec
— Fidelity Investments (@Fidelity) October 4, 2017
Elsewhere, Fidelity uses simple infographics to convey information in a visually pleasing manner. Whether the picture is illustrating what could happen if you have an old 401k…
Have an old #401k? Understand your options and the consequences before you decide what to do with it: https://t.co/i0zq7Crugc pic.twitter.com/7KrNev9uA7
— Fidelity Investments (@Fidelity) October 4, 2017
…or the costs of caring for elderly family members…
Are you caring for an aging loved one, or expect to be soon? Get tips to help you protect your financial future: https://t.co/ZzuK9Qzhfu pic.twitter.com/KHTZFr0h8T
— Fidelity Investments (@Fidelity) October 8, 2017
…or simple asking the page’s followers for their thoughts on investing.
How do you feel about investing? Tips to help you keep emotions from getting in the way:https://t.co/6zfH7fNHCt pic.twitter.com/DgRa6XOeIy
— Fidelity Investments (@Fidelity) October 3, 2017
Plus, through the usage of such grouping hashtags as #retirement, #401k, #stocks etc., relevant articles on the subjects can be found simply.
Clearly, this investment manager opts for clear simplicity over fancy methods, but it’s a formula that works.
And finally…
We’ve taken some brief looks at the subject of behavioural economics before, but First Wealth has helpfully created a ten-part weekly series to really investigate one of the financial world’s most interesting topics.
Given the fairly unpredictable results recently in the final World Cup qualifying games (many rejoicing the fact that we will in fact see impresario Lionel Messi on the world stage once again I’m sure after his hat trick), this first post starts with a World Cup-related financial scenario which sets the scene for a useful delving into the history and meaning of behavioural economics.
Whilst this is more of an extended introduction, it’ll certainly be worth checking back each week to almost become an expert in the field.
Given the recent political events in Spain, Bloomberg has revisited the idea of financial players moving to Spain as Britain continues to negotiate Brexit. Of course, there’s now even more uncertainty thrown onto the subject, so this article takes a look at the county’s current economic state, and consumer behaviours too.
That’s all for this week, but be sure to check back soon for more asset management marketing highlights and fintech snippets from Kurtosys.
