Despite research showing brand name and reputation is of increased value to investors, purpose is being neglected on firms' websites.

While total cost remains the most important factor when choosing an ETF, brand name and reputation have become increasingly important to investors this year.

According to a Charles Schwab report, half (51%) of investors rate a portfolio manager’s experience as being ‘extremely important’, up from 46% last year. Reputation was cited as important by 51%, and having a recognisable brand name was up by five percentage points this year, at 39%.

Despite this, a separate study by Living Group shows brand positioning is unclear on the websites of more than half (56%) of asset managers. Kate Shaw, Living Group CEO, advises companies against assuming their brand values are well-known. “As for not stating your brand purpose on your home page, it seems so obvious to include the who, the what and they why,” she says. “But I think some asset managers either don’t have a differentiated purpose to begin with, or the confidence to stand out, or they are not sure where to put it.

“It’s possibly also due to the fact that they, wrongly, assume everyone coming to the site knows who they are. I would hazard a guess that everyone knows who BlackRock is yet they have their value-driven positioning statement in the footer, on every page of the site."