U.S. Fund Brand 50

BlackRock Regains Top Spot in the U.S. in Broadridge’s Fund Brand 50 2025 Report

U.S. fund selectors value ‘Solidity’ and ‘Client-oriented thinking’ above all other attributes when it comes to partnering with asset managers

NEW YORK – March 25, 2025 – The latest edition of Broadridge’s Fund Brand 50 (FB50), an annual research study by global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) was released today, highlighting the world’s best-performing third-party asset management brands. The report reveals that a strong, respected, and trustworthy brand was the prime differentiator in a crowded marketplace for asset management firms, as fund selectors looked for well-known offerings and guaranteed returns from major global brands.

“The top three brands have maintained their position as the leaders for five years running, but this year, we’ve had a shake-up at the very top. BlackRock edged out Vanguard, driven by shifts in the preferences of fund selectors,” said Jeff Tjornehoj, Senior Director, Fund Insights, Broadridge. “A strong brand is a valuable asset in fund management that contributes to the success and longevity of the business. By investing in and nurturing their brands, companies create a competitive advantage that sets them apart in a crowded and highly competitive marketplace.”

The independent study measures and ranks asset managers’ relative brand attractiveness based on fund selector perceptions: taking into account 10 brand attributes to reveal the top U.S. and global brands. This is the latest study from Broadridge’s Data and Analytics business and highlights the depth and breadth of the firm’s global market insights.

Top-10 U.S. Asset Management Brands

Key insights

• The top two switched places this year, as BlackRock usurped Vanguard’s position at the apex of the leaderboard. Two of the key global trends observed in 2024 were risk aversity and appetite for new investment vehicles. BlackRock was well-positioned to offer fund selectors both the security of an established and trusted global brand, and a wide offering of different products — both of which were cited by US fund selectors as key reasons for preferring BlackRock.
• The global giant also came out on top in six categories including ‘Appealing investment strategy’, ‘Experts in what they do’, and ‘Knowledge of the market where they operate’.
• First Trust made an impressive run up the U.S. rankings in FB50 2025. The firm, which ranked 14^th two years ago, before rising to 10^th place last year, recorded an impressive sixth-place finish this year. First Trust’s main highlight was a third-place finish in the ‘Innovation/adaptation to market change’ category; leapfrogging industry heavyweights Vanguard and Capital Group. Fund Selectors valued First Trust’s forward-thinking product selection, which several selectors highlighted as being geared towards solving specific or niche issues.

Valued attributes

• The top-three brand attributes valued by U.S. fund selectors — ‘Solidity’, ‘Client-oriented thinking’, and ‘Appealing investment strategy’ — took the top-three places in the rankings once again this year. U.S. selectors favor large, global brands — with a wide and varied product offering, and the security of a well-established name.
• ‘Client-oriented thinking’ was a key differentiator this year. FB50 2025 highlights that fund selectors are considering the best partners to help them navigate the largest generational wealth transfer in history, and prefer firms that share this vision and are working to adapt their offering for the preferences of new market entrants.
• ‘Stability of investment management team’ dropped a couple of places in the rankings, likely due to the rising popularity of passive investments. Fund selectors who increasingly adopt passive strategies place less importance on the teams managing the funds they buy.
• ‘Experts in what they do’ and ‘Knowledge of the market where they operate’ both rose in the rankings when compared to last year, showing that there is still an important role for managers to place in attracting selectors – in an increasingly complex landscape, specialized expertise and local knowledge are becoming more highly valued.

Additional findings from this year’s study include:

• Fund selector preferences reflected increasing consumer demand for new product types — in particular, model portfolios, interval funds, separately managed accounts, and, especially, actively managed ETFs. A number of firms that specialize in these products saw a rise in the rankings, albeit this trend was not nearly as pronounced in the U.S. as in APAC.
• Last year’s FB50 study reported that steady performance and lower volatility resulted in fund selectors being more willing to try new engagements. This continued in FB50 2025, albeit with a change at the top of the leaderboard, the further rise of a recent entrant in the top ten, and some shuffling of the pack lower down the rankings. 
• One firm that stood out in the category of ‘Client-oriented thinking’ — ranked second by fund selectors in order of importance — is Charles Schwab, which outperformed its 17^th overall place in the FB50 rankings to secure an impressive seventh spot for this attribute. Clients cited its competitive product costs and the simplicity and convenience of working with an all-in-one custodian and asset manager.

A webinar is scheduled for April 1^st at 2:00pm BST | 9:00am EST | 9:00pm CST to reveal the top asset management brands in each region. Registration is available to all at https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/4856337/C31EF5B7BB12C227237FC751069B4526 and is now open.

About the research

The Broadridge Fund Brand 50 report is an annual study monitoring the influence of brand on third-party fund selection. The study is based on intensive interviews in Europe, APAC, and the US with more than 1,200 of the most significant fund selectors and gatekeepers – the key decision makers who choose which funds and groups are added to a distributor’s buy list. Interviewees name their top-three suppliers across the following 10 brand attributes.

• Solidity

• Client-oriented thinking

• Appealing investment strategy

• Experts in what they do

• Knowledge of the market where they operate

• Thinks and acts globally

• Stability of investment management team

• Keeping best informed

• Innovation/adaptation to market change

• Social responsibility/sustainability

These answers, as well as commentary from other preference questions, are collated using statistical analysis and transformed into a ‘Total Brand Score’, on which groups are ranked

Asset managers, consultants, and other industry stakeholders interested in receiving the in-depth Broadridge Fund Brand 50 analysis can make their request via the Fund Brand 50 information page.

Europe Fund Brand 50

The Best-Performing Fund Brands in Europe and Globally According to the Broadridge Fund Brand 50 2025 Report

BlackRock maintains top position in Broadridge’s Fund Brand 50 global asset manager rankings, while the backlash against ESG pushes green into the red.

LONDON – 25^th March 2025 – The latest edition of Broadridge’s Fund Brand 50 (FB50), an annual research study by global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) was released today, highlighting the world’s best-performing third-party asset management brands. The study reveals that European fund selectors placed higher importance on ‘Appealing investment strategy’ than their US and APAC counterparts, and turned away from active mutual funds to seek efficient returns in alternatives and active ETFs.

“An unchanged trio of US fund providers top the brand ranking. JP Morgan closed the gap further in 2024 on first-ranked BlackRock, as both groups score highly across all 10 brand attributes, except ‘Social responsibility/sustainability’. European groups are still well-represented at the top table, making up five of the top 10, with DWS breaking into the top 10 for the first time,” said Barbara Wall, Director, EMEA Insights, Broadridge.

Battered by turbulent geopolitical changes, worsening fee compression, and painful cuts to resources, asset managers had to innovate to stay afloat – with many of the most successful managers diversifying into up-and-coming investment vehicles. The nascent European active ETF and semi-liquid alternatives segments proved two of the most interesting (and profitable) in 2024.

Managers also had to adapt to shifting client needs, adopting new approaches to pricing and client service. While having a distinct product range remains essential, it is more of hygiene factor than a differentiator. Today’s fund selector expects intuitive client service, highly effective and strategic communications, and thorough expertise in newer and more complex product segments – although EMEA selectors place a lower premium on ‘Solidity’ than their APAC and US counterparts.

The independent study, now in its 14^th year, measures and ranks asset managers’ relative brand attractiveness based on fund selector perceptions: taking into account 10 brand attributes to reveal the top global and regional brands in Europe, APAC, and the US. FB50 also reveals the local market brand leaders in Europe and APAC’s most significant retail markets for third-party fund distribution. This is the latest study from Broadridge’s Data and Analytics business and highlights the depth and breadth of the firm’s global market insights.

Top-10 European Asset Management Brands

Key insights

While BlackRock’s position at the apex of the leaderboard has looked unassailable for several years now, second-placed JPMorgan is gaining ground fast – setting up a showdown for supremacy in Europe next year. The top-five global brands, led by BlackRock, are all industry giants in terms of both assets under management and operational scale. While the top five remain unchanged from last year, there is significant jostling for position in the rest of the top 10 – as well as plenty of fast risers and new entrants throughout the top 50. This was largely to the benefit of passive specialists, many of whom shot up the rankings. While active managers generally struggled in EMEA, there were some notable risers too, such as Baillie Gifford and Artemis.

It was a tough year for ESG, as the phenomenon of ‘greenwashing’ which has been written about so much in recent years – where managers seek to embellish the environmental bona fides of products with tenuous environmental credentials to make them more appealing to socially conscious investors – pivoted into something very different as the pendulum of political pressure swung the other way: giving rise to yet another new term, ‘greenhushing’. With ESG increasingly out of vogue, several firms strongly associated with sustainability and social responsibility were negatively impacted, most notably Robeco and Nordea. Firms are increas­ingly reluctant to champion their ESG cre­dentials for fear of their brand being politicised or even opened up to legal challenges.

European investors turned in their droves to new asset classes, with equity ETF providers recording their best year ever, and generalists looking to improve their alternatives offering – with a particular flurry of activity coming from the number of semi-liquid strategy launches.

Top valued attributes

The top-five most important attributes in Europe were unchanged overall in FB50 2025 – although there were some shifts in the order of priority. While ‘Appealing investment strategy’ retained pole position, ‘Expert in what they do’ pushed ‘Client-oriented thinking’ down into third place, as rising client demand for non-traditional asset class exposure proved a key differentiator. ‘Keeping best informed’ and 'Solidity' retained their top-five placements, as fund selectors expect clear and effective communication, and seek solidity in well-established and well-trusted brands with a proven track record. Selectors also stressed the importance of state-of-the-art communications.

In a year dominated by notable mergers and acquisitions, ‘Solidity’ and ‘Stability of investment management team’ were also high on the radar of fund selectors. Asset managers face a challenge in trying to balance achieving scale and building a reputation in popular and up-and-coming investment strategies on one hand, while working to ensure that acquisitions enrich rather than dilute brand perception on the other.

‘Social responsibility/sustainability’ slumped to last place in this year’s ranking, where it also finished in APAC and the US. While it would be premature to proclaim the death of ESG, it is certainly in need of a reboot.

Additional findings from this year’s study include:

• With ETFs dominating flows and cost pressures rising rapidly, it is no surprise to see the top-10 ranking prominently featuring a number of passive fund specialists. 
• While BlackRock maintained its dominant position in the region as a whole, there were some losses at the market level. The global giant was pushed out of the top spots in Germany and Italy by JPMorgan. BlackRock also appears second in Sweden and Switzerland, and has dropped two rungs in France, appearing fourth behind Natixis, Pictet, and Amundi.
• Pictet was stung by the backlash against thematic investments, as selectors ditched active funds in favour of less expensive index-tracking products and ETFs. This performance is typical for active managers, although there is a swell of belief that active man­agement will see a recovery this year as gains become harder to come by.
• Growing demand for ETFs also affected bond specialist PIMCO, who dropped two rungs into 12th position this year. Some managers found they can get similar exposure from ETFs at a lower price point, and more efficiently than from fixed income products. It wasn’t all bad news for PIMCO though, as the firm was widely praised for their communications.

A webinar is scheduled for 1 April at 2:00pm BST | 9:00am EST | 9:00pm CST to reveal the top asset management brands in each region. Registration is available to all at https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/4856337/C31EF5B7BB12C227237FC751069B4526 and is now open.

About the research

The Broadridge Fund Brand 50 report is an annual study monitoring the influence of brand on third-party fund selection. The study is based on intensive interviews in Europe, APAC, and the US with more than 1,200 of the most significant fund selectors and gatekeepers – the key decision makers who choose which funds and groups are added to a distributor’s buy list. Interviewees name their top-three suppliers across the following 10 brand attributes.

• Appealing investment strategy
• Expert in what they do
• Client-oriented thinking
• Keeping best-informed
• Solidity
• Innovation/adaptation to market
• Key international player
• Stability of investment management team
• Local knowledge
• Social responsibility/sustainability

These answers, as well as commentary from other preference questions, are collated using statistical analysis and transformed into a ‘Total Brand Score’, on which groups are ranked.

Asset managers, consultants and other industry stakeholders interested in receiving the in-depth Broadridge Fund Brand 50 analysis can make their request via the Fund Brand 50 information page.

APAC Fund Brand 50

Broadridge Fund Brand 50 2025 Report Reveals Best-Performing Fund Brands in APAC and Globally

Cautious APAC investors value the security of well-established global brand names – as well as the return potential of alternatives and ETFs.

SINGAPORE – 25^th March – The latest edition of Broadridge’s Fund Brand 50 (FB50), an annual research study by global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) was released today, highlighting the world’s best-performing asset management brands – as chosen by third-party fund selectors. The study reveals that investors in APAC responded to volatile market conditions with caution – consolidating their product offering among a shrinking number of major global firms as a hedge against uncertainty. However, this caution did not extend to product, as selectors ditched underperforming traditional investment vehicles and flocked to alternatives.

“2024 turned out to be another challenging year for both domestic and foreign asset managers. There was a surge of retail flows in China into equity ETFs while active ETFs began to gain traction in various APAC markets. Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) was a driver of net flows after a revamp, helping to drive flows into the retirement space in Japan. There was growing interest in alternative investment assets from the institutional space across APAC, with demand for such investments simmering in the retail space as well. Artificial Intelligence-related investment strategies also began to draw the attention of investors,” said Evonne Gan, Principal, APAC Insights at Broadridge. “Against this backdrop, investors across Asia increasingly are turning to large, well-known, and reliable brand names to deliver the types of fund products they seek and their commensurate returns. These drivers helped global managers to entrench themselves even deeper into APAC's fund management landscape in 2024 amid challenging market conditions.”

The independent study measures and ranks asset managers’ relative brand attractiveness based on fund selector perceptions: taking into account 10 brand attributes to reveal the top global and regional brands in Europe, the US, and APAC. FB50 also reveals the local market brand leaders in APAC and Europe’s most significant retail markets for third-party fund distribution. This is the latest study from Broadridge’s Data and Analytics business and highlights the depth and breadth of the firm’s global market insights.

Top-10 APAC Asset Management Brands

Key insights

Although there was no change among the top-three brands, led by BlackRock, there was much more movement in the rest of the leaderboard than in previous years. Blackstone Group broke into the top 10 on the back of a massive 30 place run up the rankings – with the world’s largest alternatives manager proving the prime beneficiary of an investor move away from mutual funds and other traditional asset classes.

As some of the global giants jostle for position in the top 10, their performance in APAC’s largest market is a key differentiator. China's slowing GDP growth of around 5% in 2024, below the post-1992 annual average, deeply affected consumer spending and had knock-on effects for other regional APAC markets.

BlackRock, a dominant force across the region, but inconsistent in the China rankings in recent years, provides a useful bellwether for Chinese fund selector’s changing attitude to major global brands. BlackRock suffered a precipitous fall in the FB50 2024 rankings but rebounded a remarkable 23 places to top the China rankings in FB50 2025.

Given China's influential role in the APAC region, economic reverberations were felt across markets, with the notable exception of India. Investor sentiment across APAC was cautious, with a trend towards passive fund products in China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Australia. This shift prompted many firms to consolidate their product offerings to align with evolving investor preferences.

Valued attributes

There was huge change among the attributes that fund selectors valued the most in FB50 2025, reflecting the cautious outlook adopted by APAC investors. ‘Solidity’ rose from third place to first, as fund selectors adopted a conservative approach to their decision-making: prioritising firms with a proven track record and consolidating business among an ever-smaller number of large global managers.

Selector preference prioritised the brand over the team – reflecting the consumer shift from active to passive management. ‘Expert in what they do’ was the top-ranked attribute last year but dropped to sixth in this year’s report. ‘Stability of investment management team’ is all the way down in eighth place, as fund selectors care less than ever about who’s managing a portfolio that is weighted ever more heavily to index trackers and algorithmic trading anyway.

‘Social responsibility/sustainability’ has never been as prominent an attribute in APAC as in EMEA or the US, but it slumped to the very bottom of the rankings in FB50 2025, shaped by a prominent rightward shift in US policy, which exerted huge influence over the global firms headquartered in North America.

Additional findings from this year’s study include:

• The asset management landscape also shifted in terms of preferred asset classes, with Blackstone, KKR, and other formidable players in alternative strategies gaining ground in the rankings as a result of growing investor appetite for new investment classes. ETF fever also permeated APAC, although demand for these assets disproportionately benefited the major global managers with well-known offerings in this space.
• The integration of AI into fund management and the rise of cryptocurrency products are also pivotal to the ongoing transformation of the market. This tech-driven shift is particularly popular in forward-thinking APAC. AI in particular enables fund firms to offer more efficient, customised solutions at competitive costs. It remains to be seen whether this will level the playing field for smaller managers, or further contribute to the consolidation of assets among the global managers with near bottomless pockets to fund R&D.
• As the fund industry places more importance on technology and alternative strategies, incumbents face growing pressure to adapt. The evolving landscape necessitates a proactive approach to maintain competitiveness and address cost-efficiency demands effectively. This may prove a challenge for the largest firms, as a large ship takes longer to turn around than a smaller vessel.
• The trend toward passive products continues, particularly in China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Australia.

A webinar is scheduled for 1 April at 2:00pm BST | 9:00am EST | 9:00pm CST to reveal the top asset management brands in each region. Registration is available to all at https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/4856337/C31EF5B7BB12C227237FC751069B4526 and is now open.

About the research

The Broadridge Fund Brand 50 report is an annual study monitoring the influence of brand on third-party fund selection. The study is based on intensive interviews in Europe, APAC, and the US with more than 1,200 of the most significant fund selectors and gatekeepers – the key decision makers who choose which funds and groups are added to a distributor’s buy list. Interviewees name their top-three suppliers across the following 10 brand attributes.

• Solidity
• Key international player
• Appealing investment strategy
• Keeping best-informed
• Client-oriented thinking
• Expert in what they do
• Innovation/adaptation to market
• Stability of investment management team
• Local knowledge
• Social responsibility/sustainability

These answers, as well as commentary from other preference questions, are collated using statistical analysis and transformed into a ‘Total Brand Score’, on which groups are ranked.

Asset managers, consultants, and other industry stakeholders interested in receiving the in-depth Broadridge Fund Brand 50 analysis can make their request via the Fund Brand 50 information page.