LONDON, Sept. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackRock, JP
Morgan Asset Management and Robeco were the major category winners
of the 2020 Broadridge Distribution Achievement Awards. At this
week's ALFI Rentrée virtual conference, the winners of each
category were announced via a daily video.
Now in their fourth year, the awards recognise excellence in
various aspects of fund distribution. The winners are identified by
Europe's leading third-party fund
selectors from Broadridge's Fund Buyer Focus Intelligence survey
and through interview data covering the 12-month period to
June 2020.
The Broadridge Distribution Achievement Awards celebrate the
efforts and innovation of marketing, sales and service teams in
European fund distribution. The diversity of this year's winners
reflect the breadth of talent and collaboration of teams working
across the industry. While global heavyweights BlackRock and JP
Morgan featured in the main categories, smaller managers such as
Nordea and Flossbach Von Storch were recognised in the fastest
riser awards. Top ESG credentials saw Robeco named as leading group
for the third year running, while in a significant move, BlackRock
was named as the fastest riser in this category.
Commenting on the award winners, Mauro
Baratta, Vice President, Distribution Insight, Broadridge
said: "In a year of massive change for the industry, asset managers
have had to contend with intensified competition, the acceleration
of ESG investing and rapid digital transformation. The nominees and
winners of this year's awards demonstrate their resilience,
innovation and ability to adapt while remaining focused on
delivering a first-class client experience."
Camille Thommes, Director General
of ALFI, said: "Across the globe, projects are looking for
financing, while investors want to channel their money towards
projects worth supporting. Asset managers bring both sides
together, aiming for the perfect match. As we honour their
achievements in distributing investment funds, we hope to
facilitate more perfect matches every day."
The awards are based on responses from some 900 fund selectors
participating in the annual Broadridge Fund Buyer Focus survey. The
survey seeks to identify the changing demands of Europe's key fund distribution influencers,
and the fund providers that are delivering best-in-class standards.
These fund selectors represent over €3trn of third-party client
assets in Europe and are a
representative voice of investors in the ten markets they
serve.
Award categories and winners:
Sales Services
The sales relationship continues to
become more nuanced, with fund selectors seeking a relationship
that spans deep technical expertise, responsiveness and a clear
understanding of individual business and clients' needs. JP Morgan
remained the leader in delivering the optimal balance. At the same
time, Flossbach Von Storch's fastest riser award highlights the
skill and ability of smaller managers to provide a personalised and
memorable service.
Overall winner: JP Morgan Asset
Management
Fastest riser:
Flossbach Von Storch AG
Marketing
In today's digital world, the
marketing function has become critical in driving and delivering
engaging, personalised experiences for clients and prospects as an
integral part of the sales process. ESG and sustainability
campaigns were a major focus for many asset managers, and proved an
area where the resourceful BlackRock was able to stand out from the
crowd, launching and promoting a new suite of ESG products, which
helped it wrestle the Marketing award from JP Morgan's powerful
grip.
Overall winner:
BlackRock
Fastest riser: Nordea
Investment Management
ESG/Socially Responsible Investing
With increasing
investor appetite for ESG and responsible investing and concerns
over 'greenwashing', managers and their products faced increased
scrutiny to demonstrate their credentials. Robeco, an early pioneer
of ESG and thematic investing, demonstrated its authenticity
and held on to the top award. In the past, smaller players have
dominated this category while the large global houses, particularly
from the US, have lagged. In a major shift this year, BlackRock's
new approach to ESG fast-tracked the group to fastest riser for
this category.
Overall winner: Robeco
Fastest riser: BlackRock
Brand
Regardless of size, the multi-faceted
components of a company's brand must work together to convey a
clear conviction and purpose. The nominees and winners in this
year's awards displayed these characteristics. BlackRock's
supermarket offering for all weathers, augmented by its new ESG
offerings, helped it maintain its clear lead with European
selectors. Meanwhile, Nordea's multi-boutique expertise promoting a
dependable and stable brand resonated well with selectors,
particularly in challenging market conditions. In times of
uncertainty, investors and selectors alike gravitate towards a
trusted, reliable pair of hands.
Overall winner:
BlackRock
Fastest riser: Nordea Investment
Management
For Further Information:
Lynn Pattinson
Senior Editor, Global Insights
Broadridge
+44 (0) 7747 760263
Lynn.Pattinson@Broadridge.com
Anna Ferreri
Senior Communications Manager
ALFI
Tel: +352 22
30 26 48
Anna.Ferreri@alfi.lu
Notes to editors:
Broadridge Distribution Achievement Awards
The
Broadridge Distribution Achievement Awards are based on the
company's authoritative fund selector survey and the interview
results collected during the period 1 July 2019-30 June 2020. This
regular survey, which has been running for more than a decade, is
based on in-depth telephone interviews, in local language, with
over ~900 fund selectors from 10 European countries every year.
These fund selectors account for €3trn of third-party assets or an
estimated 70% of accessible third-party assets in Europe. The focus of the interviews is to
provide feedback to asset managers on which fund groups these
selectors prefer to work with overall and which groups offer
superior support in the categories of marketing, sales and account
management, product quality, brand and pricing.
Fund selectors are asked to nominate their three preferred
suppliers in each category on an unprompted basis. The top supplier
is awarded three points, the second, two points and the third, one
point. This data is then aggregated to produce a ranking of named
fund groups that can be compared from one time period to another.
The Awards are based on the latest rankings available – period is
12 months to June 2020.
Fastest risers calculated from a comparison between June 2020 data and the previous 12 months to
June 2019.
The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI)
represents the face and voice of the Luxembourg asset management and investment
fund community. The Association is committed to the development of
the Luxembourg fund industry by
striving to create new business opportunities, and through the
exchange of information and knowledge.
Created in 1988, the Association today represents over 1,500
Luxembourg-domiciled investment
funds, asset management companies and a wide range of businesses
that serve the sector. These include depositary banks, fund
administrators, transfer agents, distributors, legal firms,
consultants, tax advisory firms, auditors and accountants,
specialist IT and communication companies. Luxembourg is the largest fund domicile in
Europe and a worldwide leader in
cross-border distribution of funds. Luxembourg-domiciled investment funds are
distributed in more than 70 countries around the world. For further
information, do not hesitate to consult www.alfi.lu.
To keep up with all the news from ALFI and the fund industry in
Luxembourg, join us on LinkedIn,
Twitter (@ALFIfunds), YouTube and Flickr.
About Broadridge
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
(NYSE: BR), a U.S $4 billion global
Fintech leader, is a leading provider of investor communications
and technology-driven solutions to banks, broker-dealers, asset and
wealth managers and corporate issuers. Broadridge's infrastructure
underpins proxy voting services for over 50 percent of public
companies and mutual funds globally, and processes on average more
than U.S. $8 trillion in fixed income
and equity securities trades per day. Broadridge is part of the
S&P 500® Index and employs over 12,000 associates in 17
countries.
For more information about Broadridge, please
visit www.broadridge.com