Results from kasina’s annual survey of advisors’ online activities and habits highlight the need for asset managers to personalize and customize the advisor experience, as advisors increasingly go online to do business.
New York, NY (Aug. 20, 2014) – Financial advisors accustomed to personalized interactions with companies outside of the asset management industry say they want those customized experiences from asset managers, but find few are providing them, according to kasina’s latest report. With more advisors visiting asset manager sites for information they cannot find elsewhere, firms continue to play an essential role in shaping their messages and should focus on anticipating and responding to advisors’ needs, the report suggests.
kasina’s annual What Advisors Do Online report for 2014 surveyed nearly 500 U.S. financial advisors representing 97 firms, and found advisors are continuing to take advantage of mobile, online and social technologies to learn about investment strategies and products, interact with wholesalers, and manage clients. The report explores the ways asset managers can provide a user experience that takes into account the individual needs and interests of these increasingly digital-savvy advisors.
“The personal relationships that helped asset managers build relationships and retain assets even during volatile markets must be extended online,” said Julia Binder, Director at kasina and author of the report. “Advisors can be fickle, and what will set leading managers apart is the sophistication of their digital capabilities in building awareness and trust and making it easy to do business in ways that are relevant to individual advisors.”
Among other key findings of the report are:
- 1 in 2 advisors want firms to personalize online content to their needs – fewer than in past years because there has been no increase in the number of firms offering it.
- 71.3% of advisors want asset managers to let them choose the topics, managers, and products included in subscription emails, but only 43.1% of firms offer subscription at all.
kasina’s What Advisors Do Online 2014 report also helps asset managers understand advisor expectations on website, social networks and mobile devices, including preferences for notification options and using asset management sites.
“The need to personalize and customize the user experience is the focus of many of our recent discussions with our asset management clients,” said Michael Cogburn, Senior Consultant at kasina. “They understand that their online capabilities have an impact on advisor brand preference, and are starting to upgrade their business intelligence infrastructure to gain better insights into and deliver on their customer preferences.”
More information is available on the What Advisors Do Online 2014 research page.
About kasina
kasina is a leading consultancy in asset management with a growing family of clients spanning five continents. Our mission is to improve financial services companies through innovation. We help firms understand what the future of asset management and insurance will look like – and then offer integrated services in consulting, research and analytics to help create industry-leading innovations that will push firms to excel.
Source: kasina
