“The credibility and pedigree that comes with those two brands is an important factor in cutting through the clutter,” Arnott says. He adds the marketing campaign for the funds will include television commercials on the likes of CNBC and MSNBC; print advertising in the financial press; and social media outreach via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Additionally, Arnott says John Hancock will be the lead sponsor at Schwab Impact, an annual conference for financial advisors that this year takes place in November in Boston.
John Hancock has roughly 70 mutual funds, and Arnott says he doesn’t see any cannibalization risks posed by the six ETFs. “The mutual fund side is very active[ly managed], and we’ve found that investors want to mix both active and passive,” he says. “So we’ll be able to give them that.”