In the realm of asset management, trust is of utmost importance. Investors rely on asset managers to handle their funds and generate healthy returns, as well as manage risks. While expertise, experience, and the ability to generate returns are important, trust is one of the most valuable assets for financial advisors. It forms the bedrock of a successful advisor-client relationship, setting an advisor above its competitors and ensuring lasting client loyalty.
Trust is established at the initial stages of a relationship, even as a client is getting to know you. At this stage, the modern-day investor often turns to search engines to gather information about a fund or an asset manager, which leads them to a firm’s website or blog page. This initial encounter creates a first impression and, therefore, it is an absolute necessity that you provide them with content that builds trust.
At the same time, once a relationship is established and investment policy set, maintaining trust becomes a crucial element. This can be typically achieved by keeping clients informed about strategies and progress through newsletters, blogs, and subscription emails. Surprisingly, despite the importance of robust content, a significant 70% of asset managers lack a comprehensive content development or marketing strategy. It is also important to note that cultivating and preserving trust needs more than investment expertise.
As Bill Gates stated in 1996, “Content is king.” The presence of high-quality content on websites and digital platforms plays a pivotal role in establishing and nurturing trust between asset managers and investors. Such content involves three major attributes – authenticity, transparency, and credibility.
Let’s delve deeper into each of these attributes.
Authenticity: The Foundation of Trust
Authenticity is the cornerstone of trust; it encompasses the notions of being genuine and staying true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character. Investors seek assurance that the businesses they engage with are legitimate, and the asset manager is genuine, honest, and true to their word. Companies can portray their authenticity by implementing a range of content strategies.
- Showcasing a company's mission, values, and history: By clearly communicating your company's mission, values, and history, you can create an authentic and relatable identity. For instance, sharing a company’s journey from foundation to the achievement of key milestones can create a narrative that resonates with investors.
- Highlighting the team's expertise and experience: Featuring profiles of key members, along with their professional background, qualifications, and achievements can instil confidence in investors. Detailed biographies and interviews with portfolio managers, analysts, and other team members can humanize your company and showcase the depth of talent managing investors' assets.
- Sharing client testimonials and case studies: Real-life examples of successful investment stories and satisfied clients are powerful endorsements and enable clients to connect emotionally with a brand. Social proofs, in the form of case studies that detail specific challenges faced and solutions provided, can highlight practical expertise.
- Featuring employee stories and spotlights: Sharing employees experiences, roles, and personal journeys within a company can create a sense of community and authenticity. This approach also demonstrates the company's investment in its people and reinforces a positive company culture.
- Differentiating from competitors: Content that highlights your company's unique culture, such as participation in community services, sustainability initiatives, or corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, can build a narrative of a responsible and ethical organization making it stand out and attract investors.
Transparency: Shedding Light on Investment Strategies
Building trust requires transparency. Investors seek to understand how their funds are being managed and what outcomes they can anticipate. Transparency is not merely a box to be checked; it is a fundamental approach. Asset managers who prioritize transparency establish a virtuous cycle – trust fosters user engagement, which ultimately drives business success.
Content plays a crucial role in providing transparency by
- Explaining investment strategies and philosophies: Detailed explanation of investment strategies, including the rationale behind them, help investors feel more secure about where their money is going. Visual aids such as infographics, videos, and articles can break down complex investment concepts into understandable terms.
- Sharing performance data and market insights: Regular and transparent financial reporting, performance data, and market insights keep investors well-informed about the status of their investments and market conditions. Additionally, periodic updates on portfolio performance, accompanied by comprehensive commentary, actively engage and inform investors.
- Detailing risk management approaches: Explaining risk management strategies reassures investors that their money is being handled prudently. Similarly, discussing how different market scenarios are anticipated and managed, provides a deeper understanding of your firm's strategic approach to risk.
- Collaborating with investors: Transparency works both ways. By incorporating interactive mediums such as Q&A sessions or live chats with portfolio managers, you can establish direct communication channels that enable investors to actively engage and participate in the decision-making process.
- Offering webinars, videos, and podcasts that explain investment concepts: Educational content in various formats cater to different investor preferences, enhancing their understanding and engagement. Such platforms also offer opportunities for real-time interaction and feedback, further building trust through open communication.
Credibility: Demonstrating Expertise and Knowledge
Credibility is the ultimate milestone in the journey to gaining trust through content strategy. While authenticity and transparency can be achieved through the content you create, establishing credibility requires a much longer effort. Transparency requires open and clear communication about your financials, whereas credibility is about being trustworthy and reliable. For example, an asset management firm may disclose its financial information transparently, but may still lack credibility if it has a track record of mishandling funds or failing to comply with industry regulations.
Content can demonstrate credibility by
- Being clear in communication: The initial phase of establishing credibility involves a clear mention of your strategies and investment plans, the risks involved, and the expected returns. It is important to avoid using vague or generic statements and instead provide specific details, such as delineating growth plans between organic expansion and acquisitions, or clearly outlining capital deployment priorities.
- Being consistent in your messages: Maintaining consistent content across different digital platforms is of utmost importance. Whether it’s the quality of a blog, the style of a newsletter, or the tone of an email, consistency in language, style, and quality is crucial for establishing a credible image.
- Publishing research papers and whitepapers: Comprehensive research papers and whitepapers that focus on market trends, economic outlook, and investment strategies have the potential to establish your firm as a leading authority. It is crucial that these documents are meticulously researched, backed by data, and offer distinctive insights or perspectives.
- Showcasing industry recognition and awards: Highlighting industry accolades, awards, and recognitions serve as an external validation of your firm’s expertise and achievements. Additionally, client testimonials, particularly those from esteemed and influential clients, can act as compelling endorsements.
- Supporting regulatory compliance: Content that is both clear and accurate ensures compliance with regulatory requirements. It is essential for content to meet regulatory obligations, including disclosure requirements. Additionally, compliant content supports regulatory audits, cross-border compliance, and record-keeping obligations.
Having recognized the significance of authentic, transparent, and credible content, let us now shift our attention to another important element - Evaluating the Impact of Content on Trust. While trust is an intangible asset, its impact can be measured. Let’s discuss a few elements that help measure the impact of your content.
- Engagement Metrics: Metrics that track website traffic, time spent on pages, bounce rates, and social media engagement, provide insights into how effectively content is reaching and resonating with your audience.
- Feedback and Surveys: Regular surveys and feedback provide direct insights into investors’ perceptions and level of satisfaction. Such feedback can be used to refine and improve your content strategy and ensure it remains aligned with investors’ needs and expectations.
- Content Performance Analysis: Performance analysis of different types of content, such as blogs, videos, and whitepapers, help identify which formats are most effective in building trust. A/B testing, a method of comparing two versions of the same campaign can provide data on what resonates best with your audience.
- ROI Measurement: Evaluating the return on investment (ROI) of content marketing efforts help determine the financial impact of trust-building initiatives. Metrics such as lead generation, conversion rate, and client retention can provide tangible evidence of the value created by an effective content strategy.
How Evalueserve Can Help
Evalueserve offers a range of Content Marketing Services, including content creation, web publication, and design services, to help asset managers build and maintain trust.
- Content creation: Our team of highly qualified analysts conduct research and generate content on various topics, such as ESG, risk management, alternatives, equity, and more.
- Web publication: With our expertise in managing content for asset managers across multiple websites and regions, we have the ability to ensure that your digital platforms are always up to date. We provide services such as funds data management, website audit, and web monitoring and analysis.
- Design services: Our experienced team can provide high-quality images, videos, and infographics, as well as digital design, document design, infographic design, and graphic creation services.
For further information, please reach out to our team of experts here.
