Congratulations, Vanguard [profile]. Sixty percent of advisors surveyed for a recent Cogent Research report ranked Vanguard their most favored ETF provider, more than any of its competitors.

Among Vanguard's merits include financial stability, bang for the buck, integrity and honesty, fee transparency and a strong brand, shows the new Cogent Research Advisor Brandscape 2012 report. It was announced today in a Cogent press release.

Meanwhile, dominant market-share leader iShares [profile] now ranks fourth behind WisdomTree [profile], StateStreet/SPDR [profile] and First Trust [profile]. While iShares does still own the key categories of "leader in the ETF industry" and offer consistent liquidity, the gap between it and rivals is decreasing as other providers improve their perceptions in these areas.

"Favorable impression is a key component of brand equity, and is vital to a firm's potential for future consideration and growth," stated Cogent managing director Tony Ferreira. "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."

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Company Press Release

Vanguard Earns Highest Ratings as an ETF Provider

Cambridge, Mass., (July 24, 2012) – According to a new report released by Cogent Research®, Vanguard now tops the field of leading ETF providers in favorable impressions among financial advisors. This year, 60% of the advisors included in Cogent's study view Vanguard very favorably, more positively than any other ETF provider. While still the dominant market share leader, iShares now ranks fourth in favorability among current brand users, behind Vanguard, WisdomTree, StateStreet/SPDR and First Trust. These and other findings are included in the Cogent Research Advisor Brandscape® 2012 report, an annual survey of over 1,700 financial advisors across all channels with at least $5 million in assets under management.

"Favorable impression is a key component of brand equity, and is vital to a firm's potential for future consideration and growth," explains Tony Ferreira, Managing Director at Cogent Research®. "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." Cogent measures favorable impression on an 11-point scale, where zero is "not at all favorable" and 10 is "extremely favorable." Among the 13 ETF providers included in this year's survey, the "top 3 box" (8, 9, or 10), impression scores ranged from a low of 12% to a high of 60%. Rounding out the top five ETF providers in terms of overall favorability are State Street/SPDR, PIMCO, and WisdomTree.

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. 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." Meanwhile, iShares still owns 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.

Top ETF Providers on Favorable Impression (Percent of advisors rating firm very favorably)

		Firm Clients	All Respondents
1.	Vanguard	70%	60%
2.	WisdomTree	66%	38%
3.	State Street/SPDR	65%	53%
3.	First Trust	65%	35%
4.	iShares	64%	59%
5.	PIMCO	63%	43%

Source: Cogent Research®: Advisor Brandscape® 2012
About Cogent Research®

Cogent Research® helps clients gain clarity, obtain perspective, and formulate direction on critical business issues. Founded in 1996, Cogent Research® provides custom research, syndicated research products, and evidence-based consulting to leading organizations in the financial services, life sciences, and consumer goods industries. Through quality research, advanced analytics, and deep industry knowledge, Cogent Research® delivers data-driven solutions and strategies that enable clients to better understand customers, define products, and shape market opportunities in order to increase revenues and grow the value of their products and brands.

 

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