MOBILE APPS FOR FUND MANAGEMENT - A CRITICAL CHANNEL TO REACH INVESTORS

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1 1 MOBILE APPS FOR FUND MANAGEMENT - A CRITICAL CHANNEL TO REACH INVESTORS BENCHMARKING BEST PRACTICES STRATEGY Report Extract Original Report with 158 pages plus comprehensive data appendix May 2014 MyPrivateBanking Report 1 st edition

2 CONTENTS 1.0 RANKING TABLE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY METHODOLOGY AND REPORT FOCUS SELECTION OF FUND MANAGERS AND APPS EVALUATION PROCEDURE DETERMINING THE CRITERIA MARKET OVERVIEW: THE PLACE OF MOBILE APPS IN THE INVESTMENT FUND MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY A SLOW START WITH MOBILE APPS THE EXPLOSION OF MOBILE APPS AND THE FINANCE INDUSTRY MOBILE INTERNET DEVELOPMENTS INHIBITING FACTORS THE CASE FOR FUND MANAGEMENT APPS WHAT MOBILE APPS CAN DO FOR FUND MANAGERS CONCLUSION SUMMARY OF FINDINGS OVERALL RESULTS DEVICE AND OPERATING SYSTEM COVERAGE CORE FUNCTIONS AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION USER ASSISTANCE COMMUNICATION INTEGRATION WITH OTHER ONLINE MEDIA USER FRIENDLINESS SECURITY FUND MANAGER APPS: THE BASIC FUNCTIONS CONCLUSION PROFILES AMP CAPITAL BARINGS CM-CIC ASSET MANAGEMENT DB-X TRADING & INVESTMENTS DEAWM ACTIVE: FUNDS APP 63

3 6.6 FIDELITY INVESTMENTS FRANKLIN TEMPLETON INVESTMENTS HENDERSON GLOBAL FUNDS ING FONDSEN INVESCO ISHARES BY BLACKROCK INSIGHTS BY JP MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT LEGG MASON NATIXIS OPCVM NORDEA 1 FUND NUVEEN INVESTMENTS PICTET ASSET MANAGEMENT PIMCO T. ROWE PRICE INVESTOR MAGAZINE UBS VANGUARD BEST PRACTICES OUTSTANDING FUND INFORMATION PRESENTATION 139 Great fund look-up tools XXX 139 Design excellence in the performance section XXX 140 Convincing presentation of relevant fund information XXX 141 Interactivity enriches user experience XXX SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION 143 Broad sharing options XXX 143 A great blog and social media links XXX PERSONALIZATION FEATURES 145 Customized news feeds XXX 145 An international approach through diverse language options - XXX 146 Subscription features and price alert settings XXX 147 Particularly rich settings XXX GET TO KNOW THE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TEAM 149 Detailed biographies of the team members XXX 149 Information about the portfolio managers and investment process - XXX APPS AS RICH INFORMATION SOURCES 151 Amount of documents meets all fund information needs XXX 151 Educational guides explain the whole investment process XXX 152 An enormous range of educational tools XXX 153

4 7.6 MULTIMEDIA CONTENT 154 Mix of articles, publications and podcasts - XXX 154 Excellent range of media covering news, analysis and research - XXX INNOVATION AND INTERACTIVITY 156 The Intentional Income Finder tool XXX 156 The Ideas section promotes specific investment ideas and funds XXX DISCLAIMER 158

5 1.0 RANKING TABLE Rank App Total Points Availability of mobile apps Core functions Availability of information Support features Communication Integration with other online media User friendliness Security Best Practices 1 Invesco US 41 2 Franklin Templeton 38 3 Vanguard 36 4 Pictet AM 33 5 T. Rowe Price Average

6 2.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY >> Seen in the light of the potential that mobile apps offer to investment fund companies, the small number of companies that have actually invested in apps for investors is truly surprising. Out of the 500 largest fund management companies, currently only a minority turned out to have an information app designed to be used by investors or potential investors in their funds. For MyPrivateBanking s first Fund Manager App Report, only 20 fund companies were found to have apps that met our criteria for inclusion. Although the first fund manager mobile apps date back as far as 2009, the number of new apps has never amounted to more than a trickle with just a handful of apps being launched in any one year.<< MyPrivateBanking sees this slow uptake of mobile in the fund management industry as a threat to the success of individual fund management businesses. Intelligent deployment of mobile applications is too important a marketing tool, for fund companies to concede all of this territory to existing financial intermediaries or to potentially hugely disruptive newcomers. To put this another way, if the fund companies apps are not in investors pockets, other financial players apps will be and fund companies will lose out in the near future as a result. Furthermore, we believe that investors are best served by having access to diverse sources of information. The financial press and financial intermediaries (both increasingly via mobile media) play an important role in keeping investors informed but investors also value contact and content coming directly from fund managers themselves. The global investment fund industry is a hugely important part of the world s finance industry. With aggregate assets of over $70 trillion, there is no doubt the industry is a powerful economic force worldwide. At the same time, investment fund management is highly knowledge intensive and very dependent upon hundreds of millions of people: the investing public. Fund management companies may not have a relationship with each of their investors but continuing to convince investors of their expertise, honesty, good sense, ethicality and efficiency is vital to their ongoing success. This combination of handling a very high volume of investment data and needing to make the case to millions of people that they, the fund companies, are good value for money would seem to make launching fund manager mobile apps an obvious choice. A Window of Opportunity Being Ignored by Too Many Fund Firms With people s expectations about information delivery and availability exploding in the last few years, fund companies have a great opportunity to make their case for themselves and win new friends. In the past, with no personal contact channels with individual investors, fund companies were heavily reliant on advertising campaigns in the press (whether hard copy or digital). Now all this has changed, and, if they take the trouble to go mobile, the companies can be found by potential investors. However, as this report emphasizes, the clock is ticking and fund management companies need to recognize that the current window of opportunity may not remain open for much longer.

7 Other parts of the global financial industry have already caught the vision and are further advanced in their mobile deployment; there is a danger of fund companies finding themselves crowded out of the mobile arena. Analysis: Current Achievements and Future Opportunities Although we believe that the investment fund industry as a whole is being worryingly slow to invest in mobile deployment, the mobile apps already deployed by technology savvy fund management companies demonstrate a variety of impressive achievements as well as a number of problems. MyPrivateBanking is conscious that apps for investors in funds present major challenges to app providers but, nevertheless, there are already a few impressive fund manager apps available. It is also possible to identify a series of risks and opportunities that are relevant for all app providers in the investment fund industry. In this report, MyPrivateBanking sets out to provide detailed research and analysis that sheds light on fund manager app development in the following ways: Which fund management companies have already deployed a mobile app for investors, how long have they been mobile, and how do they perform in terms of toplevel functions? The basic requirements for a fund manager app; what are the desirable features and the core components that each fund app should incorporate? MyPrivateBanking s detailed benchmarking evaluation of each app to see precisely what s included, what they do and how well they do it. A systematic focus on each app in the round with strengths and weaknesses, insightful description and diagnosis and clear recommendations for the way ahead. Our verdict on which companies are the real mobile leaders in the fund management industry and which individual app features most deserve recognition as best practices, providing plenty of ideas for new entrants to consider. Overall findings with regard to most serious shortcomings and most promising opportunities based on our detailed analysis and developed in the context of MyPrivateBanking s depth of understanding of digital media in the finance and investment industries. The most important findings of this report are summarized in the following:

8 Overall Performance and Industry Leading Apps Although the fund management industry s response to the mobile revolution has been so lukewarm, generally speaking, our analysts were encouraged to find that only five of the apps evaluated scored less than 50% of the maximum available points. Eight apps achieved a respectable score of between 50% to 60%, combining some areas of real promise with an undeniable need for improvement in other ways. Of the five top-scoring apps, we would particularly single out the top three for recognition that deserve to act as models for other fund companies in a number of ways: Invesco The Invesco app was the only one to achieve the maximum available points in the core functional area of providing information about the company s funds. It was also the highest scoring app with regard to the provision of other kinds of information ( more in full report) Franklin Templeton MyPrivateBanking s researchers were particularly impressed with the excellent fund lookup functionality and the sophisticated graphical efforts, particularly shown in the fund performance section of the Franklin Templeton app. Vanguard The Vanguard fund app was the best performing app in terms of integration with other social media, an essential component of a successful mobile strategy that delivers all potential gains. Key Learning Points On the basis of the data-driven research findings of this report and our experience with digital media in the finance industry as a whole, MyPrivateBanking is able to identify the following critical areas deserving consideration across the fund management sector: Too many of the current small number of fund manager app providers have yet to catch the vision when it comes to mobile apps. Fund companies need to serve their mobile investors in three essential ways: Although most of the apps evaluated included some fund data, ( more in full report) On a positive note, The design requirements for a fund manager app can be very challenging indeed, There is a wide range of app features that are already standard in apps serving other sectors but which are missing from too many fund manager apps. ( more in full report) Although only a small minority

9 3.0 METHODOLOGY AND REPORT FOCUS 3.1 SELECTION OF FUND MANAGERS AND APPS In this report, MyPrivateBanking s analysts evaluated 21 mobile apps from 20 leading fund managers worldwide.

10 3.2 EVALUATION PROCEDURE Every app was analyzed by two analysts, independently of each other, and the analysis and evaluation was repeated after an interval of five weeks. This was done to minimize the probability of wrong evaluations due to a purely subjective point of view and accidental network problems at a certain point in time. In the case of this particular report, revisiting the apps after a period of weeks meant that our analysts had an opportunity to check how prompt fund providers were in their quarterly updates to fund fact sheets. The evaluations took place in April and May In the case of fact sheet up-to-dateness, MyPrivateBanking s analysts repeated the evaluation at a point in time close to publication date in order to contribute to quarterly updates lagging behind some days. Given the quantity of information that had to be analysed, the possibility of not finding all the information in individual cases cannot be ruled out. The evaluation was done on the basis of 27 different criteria that were divided into nine main categories. Care was taken to keep the definition and allocation of points as free as possible from all subjective influences, thus ensuring a high level of objectivity in the benchmarking process.

11 3.3 DETERMINING THE CRITERIA For this report, the main evaluation criterion for the apps was the extent to which they support those looking to invest in each company s funds. We measured usability in terms of the nine headline functions: Availability of mobile apps Core functions Availability of information Support features for clients Communication Integration with other online media User friendliness Security Best practices Besides this list of criteria, MyPrivateBanking s analysts researched the respective ages of the apps, the ability to select different languages and trading capabilities. What follows is a detailed description of these headline functions with the underlying criteria and maximum achievable points. The required fund information is kept basic due to the lack of a worldwide industry standard. That is why information like fund codes, launch date, year end, investment minimums or information about whether or not funds distribute dividends, and when, is not included in the evaluation criteria. Availability of mobile apps (maximum 4 points) Core functions for clients (maximum 11 points) Availability of information (maximum 12 points) Support features for clients (maximum 2 points) Communication (maximum 5 points) Integration with other online media (maximum 5 points) User friendliness (maximum 7 points)

12 Security (maximum 2 points) Best Practices (maximum 2 points) Fund management apps included in this report: AMP Capital Barings Fund Prices CM-CIC Asset Management DeAWM Active: Funds App db-x Trading & Investments Fidelity Investments Franklin Templeton (US) for ipad Henderson Global Funds ING fondsen Invesco (US) ipad app ishares Insights by JP Morgan Asset Management Legg Mason Global OPCVM by Natixis Asset Management Nordea 1 Fund Nuveen Investments Pictet AM PIMCO T. Rowe Price Investor Magazine UBS Funds Vanguard

13 4.0 MARKET OVERVIEW: THE PLACE OF MOBILE APPS IN THE INVESTMENT FUND MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY

14 5.0 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

15 6.0 PROFILES

16 7.0 BEST PRACTICES

8.0 DISCLAIMER IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMERS: No Investment Advice This report is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer

17 8.0 DISCLAIMER IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMERS: No Investment Advice This report is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal. This report is distributed for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to sell or buy any security or other investment, or undertake any investment strategy. It does not constitute a general or personal recommendation or take into account the particular investment objectives, financial situations, or needs of individual investors. The price and value of securities referred to in this report will fluctuate. Past performance is not a guide to future performance, future returns are not guaranteed, and a loss of all of the original capital invested in a security discussed in this report may occur. Certain transactions, including those involving futures, options, and other derivatives, give rise to substantial risk and are not suitable for all investors. Disclaimers There are no warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or results obtained from any information set forth in this report. MyPrivateBanking GmbH will not be liable to you or anyone else for any loss or injury resulting directly or indirectly from the use of the information contained in this report, caused in whole or in part by its negligence in compiling, interpreting, reporting or delivering the content in this report. Copyright MyPrivateBanking GmbH s Products are the property of MyPrivateBanking GmbH, Switzerland, and are protected by Swiss and international copyright law and other intellectual property laws. Customers are prohibited to copy, forward or store MyPrivateBanking Products outside of the legal entity that has made the purchase. MyPrivateBanking GmbH Konstanzerstrasse 60 CH-8274 Tägerwilen Switzerland Tel For our latest reports please check:

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