Creating unique thought leadership to differentiate from the crowd​​

Overview

A global asset manager with relatively low brand awareness in the strategically important European wealth market partnered with Phronesis Partners to create distinctive thought leadership that would help it stand out from established local and global competitors.

The client wanted to use proprietary research to demonstrate a stronger understanding of local investor needs, while creating content that could support both marketing activity and more meaningful conversations with distribution partners.

Objective

Their primary objectives were to:

• Identify a clear area of white space in a highly competitive wealth management market
• Develop proprietary research around an investor topic that competitors were not already addressing
• Build a stronger understanding of younger investors and how their financial behaviors differ from older generations
• Create original thought leadership that could strengthen brand awareness and support client engagement

Approach

Phronesis Partners worked with the client to identify an under explored audience and develop a focused research programme:

• Market Review: Reviewed relevant European wealth markets with the client to identify topics that were not already heavily covered by competitors
• Audience Identification: Identified younger investors as a distinctive research opportunity, particularly given their digital-first behavior and earlier entry into investing
• Pilot Market Selection: Selected key European country as the pilot market due to the relatively advanced adoption of investing among the target age group
• Investor Survey: Conducted an online survey covering the younger investor customer journey, including day-to-day budgeting, saving and investing behaviors
• Information Sources: Explored where younger investors obtain financial information and which sources they trust most
• AI Usage: Assessed where and how younger investors are using AI as part of their financial decision making
• Advice Preferences: Compared the role of personal research, AI tools and professional human advice in investment decisions

Our quantitative research capabilities help organizations gather structured insights from target audiences to understand behaviors, preferences and emerging market trends.

Business Outcome

The research gave the asset manager a distinctive point of view on an important emerging investor segment and created a strong foundation for differentiated thought leadership:

• Positioned the client as an authority on the needs and behaviors of younger investors
• Provided proprietary insights that could be developed into short-form content for marketing and communications activity
• Supported an extensive media campaign designed to increase the client's profile in the market
• Enabled deeper and more relevant conversations with distributor clients targeting younger investors
• Created a research platform that complemented the client's existing work with wealth managers and end investors

By focusing on a demographic that competitors had largely overlooked, the client was able to move beyond general market commentary and build a more distinctive voice around the changing needs of the next generation of investors.

Learn more about how Phronesis Partners supports financial services and asset management research, or explore how original research can strengthen thought leadership and create a differentiated market position.