Penton’s Registered Rep. Magazine and Momentum Partners Release Financial Advisor Study
12/4/2007
NEW YORK (December 4, 2007) - Registered Rep. magazine and Momentum Partners today released a study surveying 537 financial advisors that identifies key trends in investment product distribution. The survey was conducted with the readers of Registered Rep. and Trusts and Estates, both published by Penton Media, Inc.
The study looked for trends among all classes of financial advisors and discovered, among others, the following key results:
- Financial advisors seem to be overwhelmingly troubled by the product- wholesaling model, preferring instead to have closer contact with technical analysts and portfolio managers.
- The "Spitzer effect" has just made infrastructures more cumbersome for advisors, but has done little to change the "due diligence" or sales process for them.
- Advisors see product ubiquity (mutual funds, insurance, annuities) as a real problem and are bothered by how products have been commoditized.
- Advisors want to do their own research with the help of better tools.
The research team identified the need to know how advisors view their role relative to the role and function of the broker/dealer and distributing firms' research teams. Many firms have changed the way they structure "preferred lists" and the role of internal research groups as a follow up to the changes wrought by the investigations in the mutual fund industry. This study addressed how advisors distribute products in this changed landscape.
"There is a clear opportunity for product manufacturers to organize themselves differently to respond to advisors' demands for more technical information, and in doing so, to boost sales," reports Lisa Cohen, President of Momentum Partners. "Our objective in conducting this research is to provide financial services firms with new and actionable information about how to support advisors."
"Advisors are telling us that they see their role as advisors as just that-experts who pick product and monitor it with varying degrees of help from manufacturers and their own firms. In a sense, it is getting back to the basics," said Warren Bimblick, senior vice president for both Registered Rep. and Trusts and Estates.
In addition to identifying these key trends and others, the research also identifies options for asset managers and other product firms to make changes to better meet the emerging needs of today's investment advisors.
For information about pricing and delivery options, contact Lisa Cohen at Momentum Partners (781.640.0201) or contact Registered Rep. by calling Warren Bimblick (212.204.4232) or Jay McSherry (212.204.4210).
About Registered Rep and Trusts & Estates
Registered Rep. (www.rrmag.com) and Trusts & Estates (www.trustsandestatesmag.com) are units of Penton Media's Financial Services Group. With 125,000 direct request subscribers, Registered Rep. is the leading title for financial advisors. Trusts & Estates with 10,000 paid subscribers is the leading source for estate planning professionals and high-end financial advisors. Penton Research conducts qualitative and quantitative custom research for many financial services companies on behalf of Penton Media properties.
About Momentum Partners, LLC
Momentum Partners, LLC (www.momentumpartnersonline.com) is a strategic marketing firm that works with leading investment managers and financial services companies. Client work focuses on integrating product strategy, business development strategy, and marketing communications to drive revenue. Momentum Partners has a national client base of companies who focus on a wide variety of investment and financial services market segments. Research and analysis are critical elements of our toolkit.
About Penton Media
Penton Media, Inc. is the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S., serving more than six million business professionals every month. The company's market-leading brands are focused on 30 industries and include 113 trade magazines, 145 Web sites, 150 industry trade shows and conferences, and more than 500 information data products. Headquartered in New York City, the privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and its coinvestors. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.
CONTACT:
Lisa Cohen, Momentum
(781) 640-0201
Warren Bimblick, Registered Rep.
(212) 204-4232
Jay McSherry, Registered Rep.
(212) 204-4210