Marketing and Mutual Fund Size: Empirical evidence on the effectiveness of marketing by fund employees

Abstract: This thesis aims to study the effects of marketing on mutual fund size, by itself as well as in comparison to other factors. Although marketing may not be the first thing funds think of when wanting to increase their size, the literature appears to suggest they should. This thesis aims to explore mutual fund marketing from a fund employee perspective, through a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collected through 10 in-depth interviews with both portfolio managers and marketing professionals at 6 different banks and asset managers. The findings emphasize the preference for informative marketing over persuasive marketing, as fund employees appear to see marketing as the main channel to inform investors about their funds and companies. Additionally, it appears that fund employees do agree marketing can affect fund size but indicate this may be dependent on marketing and investor type. Throughout this thesis it also became apparent that the approach to mutual fund marketing can differ between banks and asset managers. Overall, the results provide insights on the effectiveness of mutual fund marketing and add to the discussion on mutual fund size.