If you were a fund, what kind of tree would you be. No, seriously.

Like in everything else, image is a big thing in mutual fund marketing, and one of the more popular images is that of tree and forestry types, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal names a few arboreal funds just to start: the Longleaf Partners funds; the Acorn Fund; the Columbia Acorn Select; the Oakseed Opportunity the Oakmark Global, and WisdomTree.

Why trees? Well, the Journal reports that portfolios and trees "don't grow overnight, but can reach substantial heights."

The article quotes Catherine Weigel, a senior vice president and editorial director for the Carpenter Group, a marketing and creative agency, saying "that companies are looking to evoke thoughts of 'firmly rooted' funds capable of 'long-term growth and the ability to withstand the elements.'"

In the Journal article, Ralph Wanger, founder of the Acorn Fund said that "the idea of an acorn and growth are completely intertwined,…From a small acorn grows a mighty oak."

Also, Wanger told the Journal, Acorn is easy to spell and remember. "There would be a lot of marketing you can do about a chrysanthemum fund," Wanger says in the Journal article. "But nobody can spell chrysanthemum."

MFWire Addendum to the Story: There are also a lot of funds named after stones and rocks. 

Edited by: Tommy Fernandez


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