But while market growth creates opportunity, it also creates congestion. And in the active ETF space, congestion quickly leads to a more dangerous outcome: commoditisation.

The structural risk of commoditisation

As active ETFs proliferate, meaningful differentiation becomes harder to sustain. Many strategies cluster around similar exposures, with widespread adoption of so-called “shy active” approaches, where portfolios remain closely aligned to benchmarks to limit tracking error, resulting in limited performance dispersion. The ETF structure itself reinforces this dynamic: any short-term advantage can be quickly observed, replicated, and eroded.

Even sophisticated investors analysing performance in detail often find marginal differences and unreliable indicators of future returns. As a result, product features alone rarely determine outcomes. In a crowded market, decision-making inevitably shifts beyond the product.

Why product innovation isn’t enough

Some issuers have pursued structural innovation to preserve differentiation. Fidelity’s semi-transparent ETF structure is a notable example, designed to limit holdings disclosure and protect intellectual property.

However, such approaches are complex, expensive, and largely confined to the largest players. They can also introduce trade-offs that are less aligned with the simplicity and ease of use investors associate with ETFs. For most issuers, durable product-level differentiation remains out of reach, making brand, rather than structure, the decisive lever for success.

Brand as the decisive lever

In crowded markets where performance, pricing, and structure blur together, brand becomes the primary signal investors rely on. A strong brand does more than create awareness. It establishes trust, clarity, and mental availability at the moment decisions are made.

Brand answers questions that products cannot. Who do I believe? Who feels credible? Who seems meaningfully different? This is where the winners begin to separate from the rest.

Two ways brands win in active ETFs

In practice, the brands that succeed in active ETFs do so by being unmistakably clear in investors’ minds. For some, this clarity is driven by scale and sustained visibility. For others, it comes from a sharply defined point of view. What matters is not size, but coherence.

JPMorgan demonstrates how this works at scale. Backed by early-mover advantage and a long-established reputation, its active ETF franchise is reinforced through disciplined investment in share of voice and tightly aligned messaging. The brand consistently anchors itself around deep research and advanced technology, with flagship ranges such as Research Enhanced Index ETFs acting as clear proof points. The result is sustained mental availability, reflected in JPM’s leading AUM position in actively managed ETFs across EMEA and its ninth-place ranking across ETFs overall.

Smaller issuers achieve the same outcome differently. WisdomTree entered a crowded European ETF market without the legacy recognition of larger competitors, yet established a clear and differentiated position by communicating what it stands for. Built around the idea of thinking differently and uncovering new opportunities, the brand avoided imitation and instead focused on distinctiveness. The campaign line “Who’d want an ordinary ETF?” captured that positioning succinctly, helping propel WisdomTree into the top 15 ETF issuers by AUM in EMEA.

The implication for active ETF brands

As active ETFs continue to grow, success will depend less on incremental product features and more on perception. Investors naturally gravitate towards what feels familiar and credible, yet even the largest brands work continuously to maintain that advantage.

For challengers, the lesson is clear. Neither product innovation, performance data, nor distribution alone will drive sustained success. In a market defined by convergence, brands that are clearly understood, consistently communicated, and meaningfully differentiated will rise. The rest risk blending into the background.

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The psychology of colour is complex, and many studies have attempted to explain how colour affects consumer choices. Colour opinions depend on an individual’s background, tastes, and upbringing.

Red: Young energy or danger? Is it a passion colour? Pink is a feminine colour in the West, yet in Japan, pink cherry blossoms symbolise dead soldiers. Much relies on context, positioning, and past colour experiences.

Colour perceptions can reveal crucial signalling patterns, yet it’s not as easy as pigeonholing colours to evoke emotions.

Colour Builds Brand Recognition

Colour has made some of the world’s most successful brands instantly recognised. You would assume Coca-Cola trademarked red. The company’s use of red in branding has been so effective that Coca-Cola renamed Santa Claus to wear red!

We favour instantly recognisable brands, and powerful branding activates our brains, according to research. Colour choice is crucial to brand identity at its core.

While there is no “right” colour option for any company identity, consumer responses to colour appropriateness are crucial. Does a brand’s colour scheme match its products? The apparent appropriateness of colour can instantly boost a brand.

There are many resources and theories to help you choose brand colours, but you know your customers best. Only you can pick which colours consumers think fit your brand.

Viewer Response Depends On Vibrancy And Contrast

The tone and intensity of colours can affect how viewers react to your brand. Vibrant hues energise and stimulate. They elicit stronger reactions from spectators. McDonald’s famously uses bright red and yellow to suggest energy, fun, and excitement.

However, softer, darker, and neutral tones soothe viewers. These less vivid colours help viewers process more information, making them perfect for information-heavy products and websites.

High-contrast colours attract consumers. So “SALE” signs generally use the instantly recognisable white writing on a bright red background. High-contrast colours and patterns can motivate consumers. For instance, red calls to action increase website conversions.

Men And Women Like Various Hues

Generally, certain genders prefer certain hues. Understanding gender colour preferences is helpful whether you’re addressing an all-male or all-female audience.

Blue is the most favoured colour for guys. Men like black and green, while women prefer purple, red, and green. The least popular colours for men are brown, yellow, and white, and for women are grey, white, yellow, and brown.

Knowing Colour Trends Is Powerful

Colours can convey numerous messages, yet prominent brands have established colour trends. Knowing these trends might help your brand express a clear message by following colour messaging or stand out by defying them.

Some instantly recognisable Western branding colour trends are:

Blue: symbolises trust and commitment. Think PayPal or online banking.

Black: Hotel Chocolat, Burberry, and Rolls-Royce employ black to convey elegance and quality.

White: White gives brands space, clarity, and simplicity. That may explain why tech companies utilise white so much in their branding. Apple is most famous for this.

Environmentalism commonly uses green because of its natural connections. Companies that aim to show their environmental responsibilities use green branding. United Kingdom-based OVO Energy takes this too far.

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A company can differentiate itself from the competition, establish a solid reputation, and add value by using branding to give their business a distinct personality. Here is how a strong brand will impact your business:

Helps In Getting Recognition

Acquiring recognition is largely dependent on branding. Your brand defines every element, including e-promos, corporate design, photography, and websites. Every interaction offers a chance to strengthen customer loyalty and raise brand awareness.

Builds Trust

Building trust is achieved through branding. Since it offers a company significant competitive and financial advantages, developing a strong brand with devoted customers is vital. Businesses that present themselves well have a far higher chance of doing business with others.

Builds Financial Value

Branding is a valuable asset. Branding increases the monetary value and brings in new business. Brands increase market share growth, drive demand and sales, and increase differentiation from competitors while increasing shareholder value.

Generates Referral Business

A strong brand generates referral business, bringing you new clients. People enjoy recommending companies to others when they have a good experience with them.

Motivate Staff

Strong brands attract talent and motivate staff, giving them something to believe in and to stand behind.

“The foundation of any business is its brand. Establishing your brand’s values is essential. What your clients and future clients think of you is your brand. A brand’s experience is something you would want to have, so it is important to be conscious of it. Customers will choose you over your competitors when you have a strong brand because it highlights and sets apart your goods and services. Strong brands are the result of careful planning, patience, and effort. Being experts in a particular area of the business, we are in a unique position to offer advice on how to help clients stand out,” Ella Yuen, freelance brand manager, said, Best&CO reported.

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To get those merchants and their products removed from the Amazon store, Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) filed lawsuits against numerous organisations that made thousands of fictitious allegations of copyright infringement against Amazon’s selling partners.

Kebharu Smith, director of Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit, said, “We realise how crucial it is for our selling partners to have a consistent Amazon store experience, and we will be persistent in our pursuit of bad actors that aim to undermine that experience.”

The lawsuits, according to Kebharu Smith, “Should serve as a caution to anyone who employs fraud in an effort to harm any of the millions of selling partners that deal with Amazon on a daily basis.”

The Western District of Washington United States District Court received the lawsuits. The Amazon Brand Registry is a crucial tool in this endeavour, according to Amazon, which aims to give selling partners the resources they need to assist in safeguarding their IP rights.

The Amazon Brand Registry, introduced in 2017, is a free service offering businesses several tools for defending and enhancing their brands.

According to Amazon, “With Brand Registry, automatic protections check over 8 billion daily attempts to update listings to proactively prevent infringing listings from going live before a customer ever sees them.”

According to Amazon, there has been a 99 per cent decrease in reports of alleged infringement by enrolled firms since the Brand Registry program’s introduction. The business continued. Around 700,000 brands are currently enrolled, and that figure is rising.

“These are only a few of the many reasons,” it said.

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China is a prime market for US empires like Starbucks, KFC and McDonald’s, while Burger King recently announced plans to expand its presence there.

Shaun Rein, managing director at China Market Research Group stated: “There is a huge risk in general for American brands, but especially for iconic ones like Starbucks. With increased competition, combined with nationalism, and the trade war as a back drop, it is very possible Chinese consumers will boycott McDonald’s and Starbucks and instead go to Chinese brands.”

KFC made up China’s largest network of restaurants, with 8,200 outlets and is the largest fast-food brand. It had a 5.2% share of the market, worth US$6.63 bn, last year. Illinois-founded McDonald’s was in second place with a 2.4% market share worth US$3.14 bn. Florida-based Burger King was fourth, with 0.6 %, according to market research provider Euromonitor International.

Starbucks, on the other hand, has opened 3,400 outlets in China since 1999. By 2022 it aims to have added 600 stores annually and more than tripled its revenue from 2017. The company announced the same at its first ever China Investor Conference, held in Shanghai in May.

Sales have been slowing recently though. More local chains have entered the market and have rapidly gained a following.

In this year’s quarter ending June, Starbucks’ same-store sales slipped 2 %, versus 7 % growth a year earlier. The sudden slowdown shows existing weakness in their second-largest market, where exposure levels are high; they own most of their Chinese outlets, rather than selling franchise rights.

Other brands like Pizza hut and KFC also have been struggling, as young diners are turning to domestic brands, according to Bloomberg. Both are owned by Yum China Holdings, which counts China as its largest market. Experts have attributed this also to the rising tide of nationalism—which has been fuelled with the sentiment arising from the trade war.

“Increasing national pride is quite an important factor in the rise of Chinese brands,” said Jason Yu, general manager of market researcher Kantar Worldpanel Greater China.

“In 2017 we saw local brands contribute almost 90 per cent of the sales growth in the market.” He added.

A similar incident had arisen in 2016, when Chinese nationalists had boycotted Western brands after a United Nations tribunal looked into disputes in the South China sea—after accusing the US of encouraging  Phillippines to being a case of The Hague against China’s territorial claims.

The post McDonald’s, Starbucks could take a hit in China due to trade dispute appeared first on International Finance.

Her resignation concluded a tenure, which was marked by efforts to adapt to changing consumer tastes and fending off pressure from activist investors.

“Growing up in India, I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary company,” Nooyi said in a statement. “PepsiCo today is in a strong position for continued growth with its brightest days still ahead.”

Pepsi stock gained cumulatively 79% since she assumed the CEO role in October 2006, according to FactSet. That’s less than both the S&P 500, which gained 112%, and Coca-Cola, which gained 108%. Its net revenue experienced growth from $35 bn in 2006 to $63.5 bn in 2017.

It also faced challenges from upstart brands that had continues to threaten its market share, including once-dominant drinks like Gatorade. Pepsi’s North American beverage business has been more challenged that its snacking business – which continued to provoke questions about whether the giant would consider splitting the two.

Activist investor Nelson Peltz had taken a stake in Pepsi and had pushed for a split of the two businesses before withdrawing and exiting the company in 2016 after a multi-year battle.

Under Nooyi, Pepsi managed to steadfastly keep both the businesses together, arguing in favor of the combined leverage it gave the company over retailers. It sought to revive its North American drink business by throwing more support behind its core brands.  Its efforts to revitalize its biggest brands included — the Pepsi Generation advertising campaign, the re-release of Mountain Dew Baja Blast and the launch of calorie-free Gatorade Zero.

It had also been continuously supporting its snack business. It announced in May, the acquisition of baked fruit and vegetable company Bare Foods. The deal can possibly serve as a building base for the broader business of plant-based snacks.

Nooyi’s departure is the latest among a growing list of recent departures in the food and beverage industry– as it faces the unprecedented challenge of remaking decades-old companies under the glare of the public eye.

Laguarta, a 22-year Pepsico veteran, has been president since September, overseeing global operations, corporate strategy, public policy and government affairs. Prior to that, he served in leadership positions in the European and sub-Saharan Africa divisions.

The international markets have been a strong point for Pepsi amid slowing growth and tougher retailers in countries like the US Pepsi this quarter reported 7% organic revenue growth in Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and 6% growth in Asia, Middle East & North Africa.

The rest of PepsiCo’s senior leadership team will remain unchanged, according to the company.

PepsiCo’s premarket stock price rose a bit higher after the announcement.

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The banking giant joins hands with developers and consumer brands to lead innovation

November 17, 2016: American banking behemoth Citi unveiled a new global application programming interface (API) developer portal on November 10, which it says is the most comprehensive one available in today’s financial services market. The portal enables Citi to connect with developers swiftly so as to build and deliver innovative client solutions faster than ever before, the bank said in a statement.

This move, which facilitates partnerships and collaborations with consumer brands and fintech organisations, indicates the evolution of Citi’s technology to open architecture in ways that will deliver value to the customer, the bank said.

“At Citi, we are focused on making banking easier for our customers by leveraging digitisation, mobile technology and innovation. Our open architecture approach is supported by the launch of APIs as a key enabler for the rapid and dynamic deployment of services and capabilities that will allow us to be increasingly relevant to our customers. The API developer portal enables further acceleration of offering our banking services in all areas of our customers’ digital lives and ecosystems,” said Angel Ng, Country Business Manager, Hong Kong, Citibank Global Consumer Banking, while Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore commented: “This will encourage open collaborations with the fintech community and potentially deliver better financial services for customers.”

As of now, the portal grants developers access to APIs across six different usage types, namely account management, peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, business money transfers, the Citi rewards programme, investment purchases and account authorisation, a list that the company says will expand over time.

“Citi’s Global Developer Portal advances our open innovation approach to delivering cutting edge solutions and enabling new streams of value for clients, partners and developers,” said Stephen Bird, CEO, Global Consumer Banking at Citi. “The rapid pace of technological change demands transformation from the inside out and the outside in. By creating a collaborative ecosystem of leading brands and developers, we will be able to offer a complete suite of products, services and experiences to meet our clients’ financial needs today and in the future.”

Mohanty added, “We are delighted that Citi Singapore is playing a leading role in developing and launching this global API initiative during the Singapore FinTech Festival. This will encourage open collaborations with the fintech community and potentially deliver better financial services for customers, as well as re-affirm Citi’s thought leadership in shaping the future of financial services.”

Developers can now register their interest at developer.citi.com where they will be offered tools to connect in a development sandbox, allowing them to put their ideas into practice.

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