Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager, ranked as the fifth most attractive asset manager to European fund buyers in a study of asset manager branding.
One of Europe’s largest asset managers, with €1.9 trillion assets under management, ranked a position higher and overtook Robeco in this year’s Fund Brand 50 report compiled by Broadridge.
The study measures and ranks asset managers’ relative brand attractiveness based on fund selectors’ perceptions and ten brand attributes.
BlackRock remained in pole position while other European asset managers received positive fund buyer perceptions, which led to higher rankings.
Nordea, a Nordic asset manager with €239 billion assets under management, moved up from tenth place to secure the ninth position.
German firm Flossbach von Storch also entered the top ten for European asset manager brands for the first time after gaining three positions. The firm has €70 billion in assets under management.
Asset managers with strong ESG credentials were more likely to rank highly as the survey found European fund selector sentiment appetite for ESG assets has increased.
Positive perceptions of a firm’s ESG credentials can have an outsized impact on the success of smaller managers, such as Flossbach von Storch, according to the report.
Following the European Commission’s clampdown on greenwashing, green credentials are more scrutinised by European fund buyers.
The clampdown also caused firms with revoked Article 9 credentials to run the risk of reputational damage among fund selectors.
The report added: “With many European fund buyers facing SFDR headaches, firms with strong communications and disclosure capabilities found themselves enjoying a major competitive advantage.”
European fund selectors’ increased appetite for ESG assets supports Robeco’s findings that European investors are leading the way in making a net-zero commitment compared to their global peers.
In March, The Robeco Global Climate Survey revealed 37% of European investors and insurance companies had made a commitment to achieve net zero by 2050.
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