Standing out is a tricky job in sustainable investments. Doing so while protecting a globally revered brand is even harder. Oliver Stracey is taking it all in his stride.
In the increasingly competitive world of investment management, establishing unwavering client trust in marketing communications is becoming difficult. Within the field of sustainability, stakeholder scepticism is off the chart.
Looking specifically at environmental, social, and governance-based (ESG) investment, the fund management industry has done itself few favours in how it has marketed its products in recent years.
The lack of authenticity of some sustainable marketing communications has made investors question claims made by fund firms. Regulators are also now looking at how financial companies are promoting their services.
A 2023 poll by investor services company IQ-EQ, found that two thirds of investment firms say they are reluctant to focus their marketing on environmental credentials in case they are accused of greenwashing.
At the same time, the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has become sufficiently worried that it has started work on a series of new rules and frameworks which will govern product descriptions and the usage of terms such as “ESG,” “sustainability,” and “green.”
It is certainly a more difficult environment within which to build trust, loyalty, and engagement than it was five years ago. This is particularly the case for anything sustainable investment related. But that doesn’t mean it is impossible.
JP Morgan’s approach to sustainable investing in its asset and wealth management operations are an example of how to build brand credibility and trust in an authoritative, authentic and considered way.
In 2019, Oliver Stracey was working in JP Morgan Asset Management as head of EMEA distribution marketing. He’d been at the business since the start of 2016, having learnt his trade in roles at Schroders, Hermes Fund Managers, and F&C Investments, among others.
At that time, he had a vision for how the wider organisation’s approach to sustainable investment marketing could evolve. He proposed an ambitious strategy to the JP Morgan management team which would involve building a new set of marketing assets from the ground up, taking a multi-year approach. The management team would require courage, vision, and conviction for the plan to work.
In the past three years, JP Morgan AM’s in-house sustainable investment experts have written more than 80 articles. In the year to June 2023, they have also published 16 pieces of sustainable investment thought leadership on a host of complex themes.
Stracey’s focus on targeted, credible content being at the heart of marketing operations has allowed the business to establish a strong, and growing, client base through its Sustainable Investment Insights hub. The hub continues to attract new fans and JP Morgan has seen engagement grow by 34% year on year, as at the end of June 2023.
JP Morgan’s asset management arm hosts the hub on its main website, where the themes have been determined by trends from the company’s research platform.
The themes explored are broad, ranging from an explainer on the implications of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD) recommendations to mining and the energy transition.
The hub is divided into five sections, together with a featured section that showcases the most significant developments in sustainable investing at any one moment in time. The five other sections are “market insights”, “investor views,” “climate,” “diversity, equity and inclusion,” and “education.”
“We know, from consulting with our clients, that developing a client experience that goes beyond regulatory requirements is key, providing insights and reporting that can help clients who need or want the ability to interpret methodology and frameworks which are not necessarily standardised,” Stracey says.
“Much like our Market Insights ‘Guide to Markets’ programme, we are seeking to ensure we assist our sustainable investing (SI) focussed clients in a similar way by expanding our client experience platform to support the changing landscape of SI and ESG data insights.”
Secret to success
Stracey attributes the success of the hub to taking a marketing approach that is crafted through regular client engagement.
He says it has been essential to identify customer needs and use market research to inform how the team shapes the content programme. He illustrates the success of this approach with a recent case study.
“Financial advisers across Continental Europe told us they wanted to understand regulation in specialist areas such as interpreting the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in a concise and easy to understand way,” he says.
“Using our internal experts, we presented them with a distilled version of the key takeaways. Our educational insight article on understanding SFDR has been viewed by more than 100,000 people in Europe, driven by organic search over the past 12 months.”
By any standards, six figure engagement for one piece of content is a strong return on investment, but the broader success of JP Morgan AM’s sustainable investment fund proposition is arguably the more notable marker. According to Morningstar data, JP Morgan AM has now penetrated the top 10 for net new sustainable investment fund flows in the EMEA region.
Stracey has also had the success of his broader marketing approach validated by external parties. In 2023, JP Morgan AM was ranked number one for its approach to SFDR by PwC’s SFDR Barometer for management companies. And, in November last year, JP Morgan secured the much-coveted European Marketing Campaign of the Year gong at the Funds Europe awards, seeing off strong competition from arch rival BlackRock.
“The award recognised the campaign for delivering growth in brand preference, helped drive reach to existing and new prospects and the conversion funnel for business development.”
The campaign for the JPM Climate Change Solutions Fund is another example of the modern approach that the bank-owned asset manager is taking to its sustainability marketing.
“The campaign sought to support client education on climate, and nurture investors with thought leadership, building our reputation for climate expertise and demonstrating the innovation of the investment capability,” Stracey explains.
Where marketing sits
Stracey says marketing’s place within a global institution as large as JP Morgan has changed considerably in the past decade, describing the approach of previous decades as “more rudimentary”. His views reflect those of other senior investment marketers at RBC Global Asset Management and M&G plc in previous interviews for Financial Promoter.
“Marketing has evolved considerably. When I started my career in marketing, over 20 years ago, a campaign was often built around an anchor event, direct mail or giveaway. Campaigns are now an integral part of the client journey, not solely a complement to the sales experience.
“Fast forward to today and we’re now at the front line of how we do business, with greater accountability for deepening client relationships. Today, the focus is on how the marketing platform can amplify impact for multiple business growth drivers and help ensure a best-in class client service.”
The sustainable marketer’s assessment of the changed landscape is also in step with JP Morgan’s broader corporate investment spend in recent times, which has included the development of a highly sophisticated business intelligence function over the past eight years.
The new approach to business intelligence has allowed JP Morgan to analyse client data in asset and wealth management and build a roadmap based on customer needs which also assists with better customisation of client communications.
Stracey says: “The investment JP Morgan made in the digital client experience during Covid has given us a more powerful platform to deliver a regionally – customised experience, capable of evolving by market, to better target marketing to client needs.”
Spotting client sentiment
The sustainable investing marketing team at JP Morgan plays an active role in identifying client sentiment around emerging trends which can lead to engagement and conversion opportunities for the company’s sales colleagues.
When planning campaigns, the team also considers how the brand will develop in the future and how the marketing approach fits with the company’s reputation for sustainable investments.
Investment marketers within wealth management operations, particularly, are continuing to pay closer attention to building brand trust, given the ongoing wealth transfer from older to younger generations in key markets. Like many of his peers in the current market climate, Stracey is acutely aware of the importance of protecting trust in a brand – particularly with a brand as precious as JP Morgan.
“Trust is slow to come, but can be quick to go,” he says. “You need patience. A good brand takes time. It can’t be bought. A good brand is not only based on a good product or service, it is embodied by colleagues, the culture of the organisation and the role an organisation plays in the community in which it works.”
He says that his team’s role has been to recognise that in building something, momentum doesn’t mean achieving everything at once. It is about having a solid foundation and building from there, every day.
“Since establishing the sustainable investing marketing strategy team, we have been focussed on demonstrating JP Morgan’s credibility and optimising the client experience ahead of marketing amplification.”
At this point in the interview, Stracey pauses to emphasise the alignment between the marketing approach of the sustainable investing team and the wider business values of JP Morgan as a corporate entity.
“This approach speaks to the wider JP Morgan ethos and a core company value – ‘doing first class business in a first class way’,” he says, noting that this phrase is held “in very high regard” by his senior leadership team.
“As a culture, there is a reason why people are so proud of the business, and it is one of the things that sold me on joining.”
Culture is certainly an area where businesses are facing considerable scrutiny right now, and not just from employees – investors too. Stracey attributes this to a new post-covid global trend where “people want to see people.”
Another area that continues to drive the JP Morgan marketing agenda relates to the ongoing complexities from climate change.
In March 2023, McKinsey predicted that investor interest in climate related investment themes would continue to grow due to an ongoing short-term reliance on fossil fuels in the current energy crisis, changes in global policy and regulation, and a more challenging macro-economic outlook.
The more recent wildfires and extreme temperatures in the Mediterranean in July 2023 have further focussed the minds of European investors.
“That conversation is not going away,” Stracey explains. “Perspectives on climate are broad and developing.
“As a fiduciary, we have built a depth of expertise which is helping to provide insights to empower clients with information, education and potential solutions, as they develop their opinion and assess the investment implications of climate change.”
What’s next?
Looking ahead, the sustainable investing thought leadership programme has been earmarked, again, as a key pillar of the company’s business strategy in 2023.
The build out of the knowhow in this area means there are now a team of 40 specialists with sustainable investing expertise and the sustainable investing platform houses around 53 funds, including 20 funds that have more than a three year track record.
With so much growth – and success – already achieved, some individuals would be daunted at eyeing yet another phase of growth, but Stracey believes that the support and knowledge of his colleagues means his team are better placed than ever for success
“One of the reasons clients choose to work with JP Morgan is because of our scale and talent across the firm. We recognise we have a unique opportunity to help clients due to the scale of our firm. Being client centric is our north star.
“To be part of building something from the ground up, with one of the largest active managers in the world, has been, and continues to be, a privilege for me and the team.”
- This article is taken from the August 2023 print edition of Financial Promoter.