Case Study: How Janus Henderson Investors used mallowstreet Insights to learn about the UK pensions industry and grow their brand
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Janus Henderson Investors partnered with mallowstreet in 2021 and commissioned the Trustee Report 2021 and 2022. This article explains how they used differentiated insights to learn about the UK pensions industry and grow their reputation as a thought leader, engaging with hundreds of senior decision-makers from the mallowstreet community.
Growing a brand by supporting decision-makers and understanding their key challenges
When our partnership started, Janus Henderson Investors was looking to enhance and support its brand in the UK pensions market. They wanted to engage with trustees and other investment decision-makers to understand their views on the key issues and so help with future product development and client engagement, as well as contribute to the debate on the key issues facing the pensions industry.
Specifically, the UK institutional sales and marketing team wanted to understand the ESG investment beliefs of UK pension schemes (covering both Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution), how they are formulated, how trustees are preparing for their endgame and managing key risks, including but not limited to funding, covenant and climate risks, and clients’ views on regulatory developments.
How we engaged with over 150 senior trustees and decision-makers every year
mallowstreet Insights worked closely with Janus Henderson Investors’ UK institutional team for two weeks to develop a question bank, filter and phrase the questions, test the questionnaire to ensure it is relevant to the UK pensions industry but also fit for purpose in delivering actionable insights.
Janus Henderson Investors benefitted from the history of the Trustee Survey – which mallowstreet had self-sponsored in 2019 and already had an extensive dataset from. We spent time ensuring the questionnaire allows year-on-year comparisons. As this was a two-year partnership, we also revisited the questionnaire in 2022 and updated it to reflect regulatory changes in a way that allows for maximum comparability.
To collect responses, each year mallowstreet announced the Trustee Survey to its audience of over 4,000 pensions professionals via direct emails, solus emails, newsletters, MPUs, announcement banners and social media channels.
mallowstreet also secured media partnerships with the Pensions Management Institute (PMI), the Association of Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT), the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA). These partners distributed the Trustee Survey via their own solus emails, newsletters and social media channels.
Each year, it took approximately two months to gather over 150 responses from senior decision makers.
250 unique downloads annually, and thousands of views and impressions
Data analysis usually takes about a month and includes cleaning, validating the data and discarding unqualified responses. We also anonymise the data, which ensures the confidentiality of our respondents – their personally identifiable information is removed and stored separately and securely.
We conducted extensive segmentation analysis, breaking down the data into sub-samples and studying the differences. By looking for the greatest differences between groups, we were able to understand what factors drive their decision-making.
- For example, we were able to identify that schemes within ten years from their endgame have a more limited understanding of the impact of ESG risks and opportunities on their risk/return profile.
- We also found that covenant risk only comes into focus when it is already deteriorating, and schemes facing this challenge have to delay their endgame plans.
Writing and designing the report took another month and a half. mallowstreet then hosted the Trustee Report series on our website, which was downloaded over 250 unique times each year:
Janus Henderson Investors additionally included an announcement about the Trustee Report on the UK institutional home page carousel.
mallowstreet then launched a six-month multi-channel marketing campaign promoting the Trustee Report. This included a press release, sponsored newsletters, solus emails, media partner activity and social media cross-posts. The marketing campaign was synchronised with promotional activities undertaken by the Janus Henderson Investors UK institutional team.
Credible content draws industry-wide attention
The article announcing the Trustee Report results was Janus Henderson Investors’ second most viewed article on mallowstreet in the month of April 2023, which was the start of the marketing campaign.
Two in five pension schemes targeting buy-out as endgame solution
The mallowstreet LinkedIn post announcing the results was our fifth most clicked post this year, and also had the third highest number of impressions.
We are delighted to announce that the third annual mallowstreet Trustee Report in partnership with Janus Henderson is now available to download.
We also serialised the research findings into thought leadership articles diving deeper into topics such as covenant and funding risk, ESG and member engagement. They consistently ranked amongst Janus Henderson Investors’ most popular content on mallowstreet for the duration of the marketing campaign.
- Why are buy-outs gaining popularity? Hint: it’s not because of improved funding.
- DC schemes face greater ESG hurdles than DB peers
- The contribution problem: TPR calls for communications to empower and unlock engagement
As part of the partnership, mallowstreet also organised a roundtable discussing the results of the research project and what they meant in the aftermath of the LDI crisis. The panel featured Anil Shenoy, Head of UK Institutional at Janus Henderson Investors, Dawid Konotey-Ahulu, Founder of mallowstreet, as well as Carolyn Schuster-Woldan, Head of DB Consulting at Redington, and Mike Jaffe, Director at Law Debenture.
Trustee Report Roundtable - in partnership with Janus Henderson Investors: experts discuss regulatory complexity and the fallout from the LDI crisis
The Trustee Report findings were also presented and discussed during a panel session at the PLSA Investment Conference 2022, which received broad press coverage in PensionsAge, European Pensions, and Professional Pensions.
- mallowstreet Trustee Report roundtable coverage and analysis from the PLSA May Investment Conference
Finally, Ally Georgieva, Head of Insights at mallowstreet, helped the Janus Henderson Investors institutional team generate additional video content – such as this detailed discussion with Anil Shenoy of the key findings of the research and how they are impacting the UK pensions industry.
Anil Shenoy of Janus Henderson discusses the 2022 Trustee Report with mallowstreet's Ally Georgieva: growing legal responsibilities, covenant risk, ESG reporting, plus challenges in the DC market.
Credible content at the heart of every brand
Given the evolving UK institutional landscape, it is more important than ever that managers not only develop solutions that fit the different needs of a broader range of investors, but also ensure their brand is front of mind. Credible content plays a key role in this – by unveiling the true challenges of UK schemes and insurers, and equipping asset managers with content that has longevity and improves their brand reputation. Contact our team if you want to place credible content at the heart of your brand and establish your organisation as a key partner to the industry.
