Franklin Templeton Investments named overall top site; new three-tier methodology used to evaluate 60 Web sites on the kasina Web Index from 0 to 100.
NEW YORK, December 4, 2006 – kasina, a leading consultant to the asset management industry, has named its “Top 10 Web Sites for Financial Intermediaries,” for 2006, ranking Franklin Templeton Investments as the overall number one performer. Franklin Templeton was followed by American Funds and MFS Investment Management. Calvert, Russell, and Thornburg Investment Management were ranked as the top three performers among firms with under $40 billion in assets under management.
For this year’s study, the eighth annual, kasina employed a new three-tier methodology to rate 60 Web sites on the kasina Web Index from 0 to 100:
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Availability: Offering the most important content and functionality. Consists of 110 criteria in five categories to scrutinize a Web site’s Branding, Online Services, Usability, Performance Information and Support Content.
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Quality: Providing high-quality content and functionality. Among the 10 site components judged in this category are Product Organization, Price and Performance Information, Fund Commentary, and Differentiation.
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User Experience: Offering a positive user experience as tested by sites’ ability to satisfy four sample user scenarios (e.g. “An intermediary wants to locate a specific fund, find its ticker symbol and CUSIP, and compare it to other funds.”)
“Our updated methodology gives us the most accurate reflection yet of which firms excel at using their Web sites to support an intermediary’s business,” said Conrad Bakker, a consultant with kasina.
Lee Kowarski, a principal with kasina, added, “The top sites most effectively balance the availability of content and functionality, its quality, and the overall user experience to provide a site that truly supports intermediaries’ key needs.”
Based on the new criteria, the 2006 “Top 10 Web Sites for Financial Intermediaries” are:
| Top 10 Web sites for financial intermediaries | kasina web index Score (out of 100) |
|---|---|
| 1) Franklin Templeton Investments – www.franklintempleton.com | 67 |
| 2) � American Funds – adviser.americanfunds.com | 66 |
| 3) MFS Investment Management – www.mfs.com | 64 |
| 4) Putnam Investments – www.putnam.com | 62 |
| 5) John Hancock Funds – www.jhfunds.com | 58 |
| 6) AIM Investments – www.aiminvestments.com | 57 |
| 6) OppenheimerFunds – www.oppenheimerfunds.com | 57 |
| 8) Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company – advisor.fidelity.com | 52 |
| 8) Wells Fargo Advantage Funds – www.wellsfargo.com/advantagefunds | 52 |
| 10) Calvert – www.calvert.com | 51 |
The 2006 “Top 3 Web Sites for Financial Intermediaries from Small- to Medium-Size Companies” (firms with under $40 billion in assets under management) are:
| Top 3 Web Sites for Financial Intermediaries from Small- to Medium-Size Companies | kasina web index Score (out of 100) |
|---|---|
| 1) Calvert – www.calvert.com | 51 |
| 2) Russell – russelllink.russell.com | 49 |
| 3) Thornburg Investment Management – www.thornburginvestments.com | 47 |
The full kasina report, “Top 10 Web Sites for Financial Intermediaries,” is available for purchase at: www.kasina.com.
About kasina
kasina is a management consulting firm which seeks to advance the way financial services companies market, sell, and service. By combining knowledge of distribution trends, technological innovations, and marketing strategies, kasina helps its clients develop innovative strategies to answer their most critical distribution challenges.
kasina works with the marketing, sales, and key accounts groups of the world’s leading financial services firms; its client list includes 18 of the 20 largest asset managers in the United States and a variety of clients in Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
In addition to management consulting, kasina also publishes an array of innovative proprietary industry research in whitepapers and also hosts a series of Executive Roundtables throughout the year. An overview of services offered by kasina is available at www.kasina.com.
