According to figures from InvercoThe market for Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) in Spain has doubled in size in the last five years. Between 31 December 2013 and 30 June 2018, the total volume in CIIs (investment funds, pension funds, Sicav, real estate CIIs and foreign CIIs) has grown from €344bn to €591bn, an increase of 58%.
According to the CNMV, there are almost 120 registered SGIICs (Sociedades Gestoras de Instituciones de Inversión Colectiva) in Spain. In addition, there are 36 international managers associated with Inverco that market foreign CIIs to domestic retail and institutional clients. At the end of June 2018, these managers contributed a volume figure of €164bn, whereas at 31 December 2013 there were 25 managers providing a total figure of €55bn.
The Spanish market is therefore a business opportunity for both national and international asset management companies. Advances in technology, open architecture, low interest rates and economic growth, among other factors, have driven investment in these financial instruments.
Their advantages, and their ability to optimise investment, are key to volume growth, because funds provide risk-reducing diversification, expert access to markets, assets and geographic areas, a wide range of available products, and favourable taxation.
Brand qualities
As communication specialists, how can we help the business of fund managers? By getting distributors to choose funds from our fund management clients, as the recipients of investment decisions for their own.
The first step is to position the asset manager's brand with the qualities that define it.
- What kind of manager I amNational, international with a more or less long-standing presence in the market, independent, belonging to a financial group, author's manager, asset manager...
- How I add value: What are my competitive advantages in terms of volumes, the markets I work in, the quality of my managers, the profitability of my products, the management styles I use, the quality/risk ratios of my products, whether I rely on active or passive management, costs, the breadth of my range, whether I co-invest with my stakeholders, whether I am flexible in my decision-making?
- What are the avenues for my growth: whether I am targeting private or institutional clients, and in which segments (private banking, personal banking, retail, corporate); how and through which channels I want to distribute my products in the market.
- How I adapt my business model to a new regulatory environment that reduces the sale of funds back to the distributor.
Communication actions
The second step is to choose the target audiences, and the communication actions to be carried out, in order to consolidate the brand perception that the manager wants to convey.
To this end, actions should be diversified, depending on the audience and content that will have the greatest impact:
- MediatorsProfessionals such as bankers, financial agents, fund selectors, analysts, advisors, or managers, working in EAFIs, private banks, commercial banks, broker-dealers and securities firms, family offices, insurance companies, others. It is most efficient to hold market/asset/geographical and product vision events, which provide positioning and personal contact with intermediaries.
- Users of online distribution platforms: Actions to reinforce brand presence that highlight the competitive advantages of the management company in online media, SEO and SEM positioning in RRSS, or specialised forums and blogs.
- Final investors: Actions to generate a more massive brand presence, highlighting the competitive advantages, and those of its products in marketing. Actions that can be materialised in generalist and specialised online and offline media, social media, blogs, forums, sponsorships, advertising, other marketing actions, etc.
In conclusion, a communication strategy specialised in content, diversified in actions, and focused on the client's business objectives, is the best response to the needs of fund managers who want to take advantage of the strength of the Spanish fund market.
Javier Ferrer
Communications consultant specialising in the world of investment at Proa Comunicación.