Online Intermediary Strategies

Top 10 Sites Named / Top 3 by Category / Interviews with Financial Advisors /
Asset Manager Online Intermediary Statistics

NEW YORK CITY, November 26, 2001 – kasina, LLC
announced today the results of its latest study, “Online Intermediary
Strategies.” The report is part of kasina’s annual marquee study entitled “Asset
Management e-Business: Strategies for Success,” which includes a core report and three independent
modules covering online strategies for the retail, intermediary, and institutional markets.

“Online Intermediary Strategies” is
based on an extensive review of the universe of asset management Web sites for financial
professionals and interviews with 150 financial advisors and other key industry
participants. kasina reviewed a total of 160 asset management firm’s Web sites for
financial professionals, 89 more sites than last year. Major sections of the report
include a discussion of the current state of the industry, a description of each of the
top Web sites with key features highlighted, and suggested improvement strategies.
Additionally, the report includes detailed findings from interviews with independent and
wirehouse brokers. The study will be available on November 30th, and interested parties
may purchase the report now at www.kasina.com/ameb. The core report and the retail and
institutional modules are already available.

“Online Retail Strategies” is based
on an extensive review of the universe of asset management Web sites and interviews with
key industry participants. kasina reviewed a total of 478 Web sites, 57 more sites than
last year. Major sections of the report include a discussion of the current state of the
industry, a description of each of the top Web sites with key features highlighted, and
suggested improvement strategies. The study will be available on November 15th, and
interested parties may purchase the report now at www.kasina.com/ameb. The core report and institutional
module are already available, and the intermediary module will be released on November 30th.

This year marks the fourth year that the
founders of kasina have conducted their evaluation of the top intermediary Web sites in
the asset management industry. A few technology leaders hold the distinct honor of being
named to kasina’s list each of the last three years. The companies are Fidelity, John
Hancock, OppenheimerFunds, and Putnam. Each of these companies recognized early on the
potential of the Internet as a channel for working with their distribution partners, and
has worked hard over the years to maintain their initial competitive edge.

Steven Miyao, CEO of kasina, comments on the
state of the industry, “This year, we have seen asset management firms focusing a
significant portion of their online efforts on the intermediary channel. As such, the
industry has come a long way in the past year in acknowledging the importance of the
Internet to the intermediary channel.”

Trends

The following are some noteworthy statistics from “Online Intermediary Strategies:”

  • 65% of sites for financial professionals
    allow advisors to check their clients’ account balance, up from 50% last year

  • 51% of sites allow advisors to perform
    exchanges/transfers on their clients’ accounts, up from 13% last year

  • 100% of advisors have access to the Internet, although independent advisors spend
    nearly twice as much time online per week (24 hours) as wirehouse brokers (13 hours)

  • While all wirehouse firms provide an intranet to their brokers, only 14% of
    independent reps have access to a corporate intranet

  • Only 21% of advisors still prefer to receive fund company materials solely in hard
    copy, with over 60% preferring solely electronic versions and 18% preferring a mixture of formats

Despite the increasing focus on intermediary
e-business, firms still have a long way to go, adds Lee Kowarski, kasina consultant.
“While sites have improved, asset management firms still need to go further in their
e-business efforts,” notes Mr. Kowarski. “Firms are still focusing almost
exclusively on their Web sites, but they need to consider syndication to broker/dealer
intranets and e-mail strategies in order to reach advisors more effectively.”

A list of the top sites is included below. For
more information or to purchase kasina’s “Asset Management e-Business: Strategies for
Success” report, or its “Online Intermediary Strategies” module, visit
www.kasina.com/ameb. The “Online Institutional Strategies” and “Online
Retail Strategies” modules are currently available, and the “Online Intermediary
Strategies” module will be released on November 30th.

Top 10 Web sites – Mutual Funds (alphabetically):

Top 3 Sites in Each of kasina’s 5 Evaluation Categories

Branding:

  1. One Group Mutual Funds –
    www.onegroup.com

  2. John Hancock Funds –
    www.jhfunds.com

  3. Calvert –
    www.calvert.com

Content:

  1. AIM Management Group –
    www.aimfunds.com

  2. Franklin Templeton Investments –
    www.franklintempleton.com

  3. One Group Mutual Funds –
    www.onegroup.com

Online Services:

  1. Putnam –
    www.putnam.com

  2. AIM Management Group –
    www.aimfunds.com

  3. Zurich Scudder –
    www.scudder.com

Usability:

  1. INVESCO Funds Group –
    www.invescofunds.com

  2. AIM Management Group –
    www.aimfunds.com

  3. American Funds –
    www.americanfunds.com

Technology:

  1. One Group Mutual Funds –
    www.onegroup.com

  2. INVESCO Funds Group –
    www.invescofunds.com

  3. MFS –
    www.mfs.com