ETF issuers are navigating an increasingly crowded and competitive landscape. With new launches accelerating, distribution channels becoming more selective, and attention harder to earn, standing out now requires clearer messaging and smarter execution. In this February edition of The ETF Marketing Memo, we explore how issuers can cut through the noise and build momentum in a market defined by choice overload.
We also sit down with FinHive Solutions co-founder Erin Martinez to discuss the realities of launching and scaling ETFs today. And as client travel begins to pick up, we share a case study on how a recent New York City-based conference created an opportunity to extend client visibility through thoughtful media outreach.
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In A Crowded Market, Educate Your Audience
By: Aislinn Walsh, Senior Account Executive
The rise of thematic, crypto, leveraged ETFs along with new multi-share class structures dominate headlines, leaving research-driven and less flashy funds fighting for attention. The good news is that investors and advisors still need ETFs that serve a variety of portfolio needs, but just how do ETF issuers cut through noise and gain awareness? In a market this crowded, thoughtful, targeted ETF marketing matters. When building a marketing plan, consider the following:
Offer a Solution, Not a Product
Are you offering an ETF tailored towards risk mitigation? Is the portfolio construction particularly unique? What are the key differentiators? How can the fund fit within a portfolio?
Rather than just touting the benefits of your fund or investment strategy, start with the pain points investors and advisors are facing (i.e. high expense ratio, AI bubble concerns, etc.). Acknowledge their struggles, highlight your expertise and depth of knowledge and then position your fund as the solution. Framing your ETF as a helpful tool rather than just another product leaves a stronger, longer-lasting impression on investors and advisors.
Educate, Educate, Educate
What advantages does your investment philosophy offer? Why should investors consider your fund? Are there stellar returns or notable metrics to highlight, like a low expense ratio?
Your job is to show investors why your investment approach can uncover opportunities close to home. Be sure to break it down using simple language and illustrate how the fund can be utilized in a portfolio. Remember that not all investors have a strong financial background, so it’s imperative for you to bridge that gap via education.
Additionally, don’t bury notable metrics in fact sheets. If you have any standout metrics, like impressive returns or low expense ratios, surface them beyond the factsheet and seek out opportunities to amplify them in a compliance-friendly manner. It’s imperative to “package up” the key differentiators into a basket that advisors and investors can easily access.
Meet Your Audience Where They Are
Don’t leave your marketing materials on the website or a sales slide deck. Use short videos and clean graphics to highlight the fund strategy, its differences, and the metrics that matter. Then distribute them where advisors and investors spend time (LinkedIn, X, YouTube, newsletters, etc.).
Keep in mind the age and demographic of your target audience. If, for example, you are offering an ETF tailored toward retirees or soon-to-be retirees, are there any limitations or pre-conceived notions about ETFs that you should be aware of?
A recent study from Charles Schwab highlighted that only 6% of Boomers intend to increase ETF holdings over the next 5 years, compared to 32% and 20% for Millennials and GenX, respectively. These Boomers noted that they are buy-and-hold investors, whereas Millennials shared they are more tactical investors. Given this data, can you develop and offer any general education materials that address the way Boomers view ETFs? If you can position yourself as an asset, it can help increase brand awareness and credibility among investors, especially prospective customers.
While the ETF marketplace is noisy, gaining awareness and traction as an ETF issuer isn’t a lost cause if your ETF(s) don’t fall under the latest ETF trends. Investors and advisors still need solutions to fit a variety of portfolio needs. This is why it’s imperative for you to acknowledge the specific investing challenge your ETF was created to solve. Make it easy for prospective customers to understand the fund strategy through illustrative graphics or short videos and be sure to package up any notable metrics into a neat presentation. There are over 5,000 ETFs in the marketplace right now. Don’t miss any opportunity to leave a lasting impression and differentiate yourself from others.
Q&A with: Erin Martinez, Co-Founder, FinHive Solutions
By: Kathleen Elicker, Associate Vice President
As ETF launches accelerate and competition for assets intensifies, standing out in the market has become harder than ever, especially for newer and boutique issuers. Few people have a clearer view of those challenges than Erin Martinez, co-founder of FinHive Solutions, which works closely with ETF issuers on go-to-market strategy, distribution, and sales execution.
From the realities of launching in a commoditized market to why “if you build it, they will come” no longer applies, Erin shares how she sees the ETF industry today, what separates issuers that gain traction from those that stall, and where focus and discipline matter most in the early years of a fund’s life.
From your seat working closely with ETF issuers, what does the industry look like right now, and what do you think many people still misunderstand about how ETFs actually get traction in the market?
The biggest thing people need to understand is just how commoditized the ETF market has become. The largest players, including iShares and Vanguard, among others, have an overwhelming share of the market locked up. For smaller issuers and boutique firms, you are competing for a small slice of wallet share, and you are competing against a lot of other firms.
What is still misunderstood is the idea that ETFs are an “if you build it, they will come” business. Many issuers believe their strategy is differentiated and assume that strong ideas will naturally attract attention and flows. That is just not how it works unless you already have a massive, pre-built distribution network or you are piggybacking on something that has already succeeded.
There is also a misconception about momentum. When a fund suddenly takes off, people assume something happened yesterday that caused it. In reality, success usually comes from a foundation that was laid months or years earlier. Being in the right place at the right time matters, but if you do not have marketing, sales, PR, and messaging working in tandem before that moment arrives, it’s harder to capitalize on it when it does.
ETF launches are happening at an unprecedented pace, but success rates vary widely. What separates issuers that build real momentum from those that struggle to break through?
A pattern I see frequently is that issuers often launch ETFs without the same level of marketing and sales infrastructure they would expect in other businesses. Launching an ETF is no different than launching any other product. You would not try to compete with Apple by putting a new phone on a shelf and hoping people find it. Yet some issuers enter the space without marketing personnel or systems in place.
Building a sustainable ETF business requires discipline across operations, marketing, and sales. You need to plan for long sales cycles, often nine to fourteen months, especially for institutional or advisor-focused products. Most platforms will not buy a fund with no AUM, no volume, and no track record, and a lot of advisors will say, “Call me in a year or two.”
One rule of thumb I share is this: when you launch an ETF, you should budget marketing and sales based on the AUM level you want to reach, not the AUM you currently have. In traditional businesses, eight to twelve percent of revenue goes toward marketing and sales. ETFs often start with zero or negative revenue, so issuers need to decide whether they are investing to grow or launching a product and letting it sit for years to build a track record. Trying to do both with limited resources rarely works.
Budget discipline is one challenge. Audience focus is another. How should issuers think about who they are really building for?
You have to pick a lane and commit to it. One mistake we see is trying to market to both retail and advisors at the same time, especially with limited budgets. When you do that, you can dilute your impact and fail to move either audience meaningfully.
Retail and advisor marketing are completely different motions. Retail can give you faster feedback and allow you to pivot more quickly. Advisor and institutional distribution is a long game that requires patience, relationship-building, and sustained investment over nine to twelve months or more.
Before anything else, issuers need conviction about who the product is for. Is this a retail fund or an institutional one? Once you answer that, you can map out the channels, messaging, and spend required, and then stick to it long enough to see results.
What is one piece of advice you would give ETF issuers trying to engage advisors or end investors more effectively?
Be hyper-focused on your audience and spend your dollars only where they can actually convert. The largest firms will always have the resources to outspend you, and trying to compete channel for channel is an uphill battle. Instead, understand who your ideal customer really is, where they are, and whether they are even allowed to buy your fund. Out of roughly 400,000 advisors, only a fraction can invest in a brand-new ETF with no track record, no AUM, and limited liquidity. If you do not narrow that universe, you end up wasting money marketing to advisors who will never be able to allocate to you.
It is also important to remember that advisors are business owners. They care about practice management, succession planning, and client communication, not just one ETF. If you get one opportunity to reach them, ask yourself whether you are adding value to their day or just talking about yourself.
Looking ahead, what trends in distribution or issuer behavior are you watching most closely over the next 12 to 24 months?
Sales cycles are getting longer, not shorter, because choice has exploded. We are also seeing more emphasis on channel alignment. Smaller teams are organizing around channels, RIAs, platforms, and home offices, rather than geographic territories. That approach allows issuers to build deeper relationships and retain institutional knowledge as they grow and launch additional products.
On the marketing side, quality is overtaking quantity. We are no longer in a volume-driven content environment and, as such, issuers need clear, focused messaging that is easy to understand and easy to pass along to end clients. That means thinking about skimmers, dippers, and divers, and using tools like AI to scale content thoughtfully.
And one final point: websites matter. ETFs are marketing products and if your website looks neglected, unclear, or under-resourced, you are effectively opening a store in a dark alley and wondering why no one walks in. First impressions still count!
Storytelling Success: Turning a NYC Trip Into Media Momentum
By: Kevin Montague, Senior Account Executive
With much of the financial media world concentrated in New York City, client trips to the city create valuable opportunities to secure meaningful coverage and strengthen reporter relationships. Being on the ground in NYC often leads to media access that’s difficult to replicate remotely.
When Ethan Powell, Principal and CIO of Brookmont Capital Management, shared he would be in New York City for a conference, our team saw an opportunity to make the most of the trip. Ethan leads Brookmont’s investment strategy across ILS and capital markets and is the portfolio manager behind the Brookmont Catastrophic Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: ILS), the first US-listed ETF dedicated exclusively to catastrophe bonds. Given his expertise and relevance across insurance, reinsurance, and alternative fixed income, we focused on expanding his media presence while he was in the city.
Standout moments: We started by identifying opportunities tied directly to the conference, which led to an on-site interview with AM Best TV. From there, we targeted NYC-based journalists and arranged in-person coffee meetings. Finally, we secured Ethan on Bloomberg Surveillance Radio, where he was able to make the investment case for his ETF.
Why it worked: By working in tandem, we were able to turn one trip into several meaningful media opportunities. Having Ethan in NYC made it easier to connect with reporters and secure coverage.