When it comes to advisors' favorite exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers, Vanguard now takes the lead spot, according to a report released Tuesday by Cogent Research.
Cogent's annual Advisor Brandscape report, which polled 1,750 advisors across all channels with at least $5 million in assets under management, found that 60 percent of all advisors and 70 percent of brand users view Vanguard "very favorably," more positively than any other ETF provider.
While iShares remains the dominant market share leader, iShares slipped in favorability among current brand users, the Cogent research found.
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In addition to leading the market in favorable impression, Vanguard achieves top ratings in association with several brand imagery attributes, which serve to solidify a firm's position in the marketplace, Cogent says. Specifically, Vanguard achieves top marks across advisors in all channels in association with "financial stability," "good value for the money," "demonstrates integrity and honesty," "fee transparency," and "a brand clients know and trust."
"Favorable impression is a key component of brand equity, and is vital to a firm's potential for future consideration and growth," said Tony Ferreira, managing director at Cogent Research, in a statement. "Vanguard's strong impression scores correlates well with the firm's recent sales success, and our results indicate that the firm is well positioned for future growth."
iShares still tops the key categories of "leader in the ETF industry" and "offers products with consistent liquidity," although the gap with rivals is decreasing as other providers have seen improving perceptions in these areas, Cogent says.
Following are the top six ETF providers in terms of overall favorability:
Top ETF Providers on Favorable Impression
(Percent of advisors rating firm very favorably)
Firm Clients All Respondents
1. Vanguard 70 percent 60 percent
2. WisdomTree 66 percent 38 percent
3. State Street/ 65 percent 53 percent
SPDR (tie)
3. First Trust (tie) 65 percent 35 percent
4. iShares 64 percent 59 percent
5. PIMCO 63 percent 43 percent
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