The sharpest PR tools in the ETF arena
All businesses face the same principal challenges – innovation and marketing. While it is important to develop great new products, it is also essential to tell your existing and potential customers about them.
A good example of how pressing these two issues can be is found in the exchange traded fund/product (ETF/ETP) sector. ETFs/ETPs are funds that track indexes or commodity prices without any decisions being made by ‘active’ fund managers.
The rapid growth of this sector is one of the most prominent industry developments in asset management today with an incredible plethora of products and providers vying for the market’s attention.
According to data collected by leading research consultancy ETFGI, ETFs/ETPs gathered record net new assets of US$372 billion in 2015 to reach $2.992 trillion by the end of December. Particularly striking was the growth in the total product range – from 5,550 to 6,146 – and the entrance of 37 new providers into the market, bringing the total to 276.
While there is intense competition around product fees the battle is for much more than this: providers are competing to launch ever more innovative products in a market in which the mainstream indexes, industry sectors, single country stock markets and commodities are already covered many times over.
And then there is brand: with so many providers it is essential to have a name that the market trusts.
In such a market, research and analysis are the sharpest PR tools. Innovative product launches may have rarity value but it far more effective to augment such news with research that demonstrates market demand.
Brand can also be supported by authoritative analysis and market observations. For example, the media is highly receptive to any indicators of market behaviour, and fund flows in and out of ETF/ETPs provide rapid insight into what investors are thinking. The sharp rise in investments into ‘safe haven’ gold ETFs/ETPs in response to financial market turmoil in January offered a strong news hook opportunity for ETF/ETP providers who had the statistics ready.
Providing incisive comment on developments in this rapidly evolving industry is also a good way to establish authority and build trust in an ETF/ETP brand.
So the ETF/ETP arena is a leading example for any business of how product creation is not enough – good PR is still needed to sharpen the market’s appetite.
asset management, Corporate PR, ETF, ETP, financial pr, Research