How long can a fund thrive on brand and marketing alone?

With the majority of selectors recommending the same 20% of funds, FE's Mika-John Southworth explores why 'big brand' funds continue to be favoured despite performance issues.

The UK has the second largest funds market - more than £6trn in AUM, run by nearly 300 asset managers.  The challenge they have is all of them are looking to position very similar products and services in a very crowded market. Asset management marketing teams have responded to this by spending a significant amount of money crafting campaigns and amplifying 'on trend compliant' messages, in the hope they are the ones that can cut through the noise and stand out from their peers in the wider distribution market. But the reality is, it is very difficult to differentiate a fund.  Trad...