Why is it that you can immediately recall the plot of your favourite childhood fairytale, despite not having read it in years, yet struggle to remember the key statistics from last week’s business meeting?
Why is this question relevant in the context of asset management communication, you might ask? Are investors not all smart ‘numbers’ people?
As marketers in the asset management space, we live at the intersection of analytics and creativity. We’re expected to be masters of data, yet also compelling storytellers. It’s a challenge I love, and I’ve learned that no matter how analytical our audience (or our colleagues) may be, everyone still loves a good story.
Your data is useless until it tells a story. The best firms have stopped reporting on data and started communicating with it.
This is why we are so excited to launch this series with Alex Dryden. Alex brings a fresh perspective on providing impactful investor communication. From sales enablement presentations to client reports, from commentaries to data visualisation, Alex’s insights are invaluable for any professional looking to bridge the gap between their data and their message.
About the author
Alex is a macroeconomist and Research Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS, University of London, where his work focuses on sovereign debt and climate finance. He is also the founder of Financial Fables, a weekly newsletter on markets and economic developments, and previously spent over a decade as a Global Investment Strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at how narratives can make data more memorable, how to begin introducing stories into slides and how to deliver tales without dumbing down the dialogue.
We hope you find his advice as practical and insightful as we do. To kick off the series, Alex is tackling that very question:
Why are stories sticky?
By Alexander Dryden
The answer lies in our evolution. Homo sapiens have existed for about 300,000 years, but the written word has been around for only a small fraction of human history, with the oldest texts dating back about 5,000 years. Even then, literacy was a closely guarded privilege – taught to only an elite few. It wasn’t until the 17th century that literacy rates in Europe began to rise above 50%.
Before the advent of widespread literacy, storytelling was how societies preserved history, religion, and laws, and how they passed identity to the next generation. In many cultures, storytellers were the “memory” of the community and a cornerstone of tradition. The importance of stories has even shaped our biology: when we hear them, our brains release chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin that enhance memory and connection, making it far more instinctive for us to absorb, store, and recall narratives than words on a page or numbers on a spreadsheet.
So, if numbers don’t stick but stories do, what happens when we fold storytelling into the way we deliver data?
From acorns to oak trees: How to grow into a storyteller
Too often, the journey looks intimidating. We see polished performances on TED Talks or charismatic leaders who seem to spin entire speeches into gripping narratives. Comparing ourselves to those mighty oaks can make us forget that they, too, once began as storytelling acorns.
Start small, not perfect
Storytelling often starts off small. It might be as simple as adding a witty anecdote to your presentation or giving a dry chart a pithy title. These early attempts can feel minor and insignificant but you’ll be surprised at how warmly a corporate audience will welcome even the smallest effort to make a story out of a spreadsheet.
With time, as confidence builds, these acorns take root. Soon, your anecdotes link across slides, and your charts begin to feel less like random data points and more like a coherent narrative. Eventually, your entire presentation starts to grow around a strong plot trunk – strong, flexible, and memorable.
Becoming a storyteller is not about planting a fully grown oak overnight. It’s about nurturing the small beginnings, letting them grow, and trusting the process. Start with acorns, water them with practice, and in time, you’ll find yourself standing in the shade of your own storytelling oak.
Now that you’ve planted your first “acorn,” where do you find inspiration for new stories? Next week, we’ll explore how to start gathering “shiny” story ideas like a magpie.
Telling great stories with your data shouldn’t be a daily struggle.
In our previous blog titled ‘Why distribution needs storytelling, not spreadsheets’, our Chief Product Officer, Michelle Wright, elaborates on her focus to help industrialise storytelling.
At Kurtosys, we help investment managers transform their data into compelling, compliant communications—from fund factsheets to client reports—at scale. If you’re ready to bridge the gap between your data and your audience, we should talk.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Why is storytelling important in asset management communication?
A: Storytelling translates complex financial data and market statistics into a memorable, relatable, and persuasive narrative. In a crowded market, a strong story helps clients understand an investment strategy, builds brand trust, and makes a firm’s message ‘sticky’ and distinct.
Q: What makes a financial story ‘sticky’?
A: A ‘sticky’ financial story connects data to a bigger picture. As this article explains, our brains are biologically wired to retain narratives better than abstract data. Stories provide context and emotion, which enhances memory.
Q: How can asset managers use stories in client reports?
A: Instead of just presenting charts, a manager can use a short narrative (an “acorn” as Alex calls it) in the executive summary to explain the reason for the performance. For example, “This quarter was defined by [event], which led us to [action], resulting in [outcome].” This provides the context that a data table alone cannot.
