Three quarters of European asset managers focused on ESG capabilities

Written by Michael Griffiths

08/11/2022

Seventy-six per cent of European asset managers believe that highlighting the ESG capabilities in their marketing will grow in importance in the next two years, according to a new study.

Research by Cerulli indicated that the vast majority of asset managers think this importance around ESG will grow either slightly or significantly over the next 12 to 24 months.

Cerulli published its findings in its latest report, European Marketing and Sales Organisations 2022: Redefining Success in a Changing Environment. It also revealed that 29% of marketing executives at European asset managers consider building or enhancing their firms’ ESG reputation as a “strategic priority” for the next two years.

Asset managers’ sales departments have a similar focus – with 51% of managers seeing the need for a strong ESG proposition as a “very important” driver of change within sales teams. Furthermore, 47% noted that ESG capability has been a key topic of their discussions with clients this year.

“The short-term credibility of ESG is at a crossroads in Europe, with managers challenged by relative underperformance and heightened regulatory scrutiny,” commented director of European retail and wholesale research at Cerulli, Fabrizio Zumbo.

“However, asset managers that have highly specialised ESG offerings and can combine clear and tailored ESG-related communication with strong compliance and reporting features will stand out in the long term.”

Cerulli’s report also highlighted the role that client service plays in retaining business. Responsiveness to client requests is important to clients, according to four in five (80%) ofEuropean asset managers, while 75% believe that relationship management overall is a crucial element of the sales process.

“Managers need to stay ahead of client concerns and should encourage their salespeople to communicate proactively with investors,” Zumbo added.

“Good client service starts with effective marketing and the marketing function can relieve some of the pressure sales teams face in the current environment.

“This will mean creating and publishing timely and tailored content that addresses the challenges clients face and provides robust answers to key questions they may have around the impact of macroeconomic headwinds and the future of ESG performance.”

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