Opening Advisors Doors in Four Steps

Transcription

1 Opening Advisors Doors in Four Steps How sales, marketing and other personnel at an asset manager can usher the right financial advisor to that first wholesaler meeting. April 2016 Ignites Research reports are sold on an individual or annual subscription basis. For pricing information, please contact Ben Northover at (212) or at

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Methodology 4 Key Takeaways From The Report 5 Chapter 1: Navigating the Advisor Client Journey 7 Chapter 2: Targeting Advisors 12 Internal Wholesalers Role in Targeting Prospects 14 Chapter 3: Generating Leads 17 Having a Newsroom Mentality 19 Chapter 4: Creating a Dialogue 24 What Makes Internals Stand Out to Top Prospects 26 Chapter 5: Earning the Meeting 30 The Final Steps: How Externals Can Really Shine 32 Main Recommendations for Action From the Report 35 Table of Illustrations Figure 1: Pct. of Asset Managers Time Spent on Parts of Advisor Client Journey 7 Figure 2: Four Steps to Getting the First Advisor-Wholesaler Meeting 8 Figure 3: Pct. of Sales Execs Who Say Their Fund Firms Do This to Acquire Advisors 9 Figure 4: Fund Firms Using Big Data in Targeting Advisors Figure 5: Fund Firms Using Centralized Segmentation 13 Figure 6: Marketing Execs on Correlation of Activities to Success in Targeting Advisors 13 Figure 7: Internals Actively Engaged in Advisor-Targeting Activities 15 Figure 8: Pct. of Internals Assessed on Advisor-Targeting Metrics 15 Figure 9: Marketing Execs on Most Effective Materials for Building Awareness 17 Figure 10: Most Effective Marketing for Building Awareness, According to Advisors 18 Figure 11: How Often Top Advisors Are Contacted With Content Messages 21 Figure 12: Most Common New-Client Acquisition Activities for Internals 24 Figure 13: Internal Sales Desk Leaders on Where Internals Can Be Better Leveraged 25 Figure 14: How Internals Stand Out, According to Advisors and Heads of Internal Sales 27 Figure 15: Advisors Ranking of Factors Helping Get a Wholesaler in the Door 30 Figure 16: Externals: Most Common Interactions With Prospects Prior to a Meeting 31 Figure 17: Wholesalers Calls to Advisors to Research Their Practice 32 Figure 18: Pct. of Externals Saying Odds of Getting Prospect Meeting Rise by 60% When 33 2 Opening Advisors Doors in Four Steps April 2016

3 Executive Summary In retail asset management, there may be no more important process than ushering the financial advisor from being a cold prospect to having that first meeting with a wholesaler. Optimistically, this is the first leg of the advisor client journey, which launches an ongoing relationship with the wholesaler. But how does an asset manager get an advisor prospect to agree to an initial meeting with a wholesaler or sales rep? Our research shows that there are four steps in this process. Step 1: The asset manager develops its advisor lists so that it can figure out which financial advisors to target. Step 2: The firm uses content marketing to generate sales leads. Step 3: The asset manager works from the sales leads to create a dialogue with the advisors, typically via the internal sales desk. Step 4: With the foundations laid, the firm finally earns a face-to-face meeting between an external wholesaler and the advisor. This report walks asset managers through these four steps to get financial advisors from cold prospects to the initial wholesaler meeting. These stages depend on data analytics, marketing and internal sales desks, then on the external wholesalers. Ignites Distribution Research found that asset managers are frequently missing opportunities to maximize their impact during some or all of these steps. For example, in the earliest stage only 67% of firms say they use big data and data analytics in a segmentation process to identify key prospects thereby foregoing an efficient strategy to target advisors. Similarly, asset managers should not underestimate the importance of content marketing to generate sales leads. Fund firms estimate it takes, on average, 4.7 marketing touchpoints to get a prospect to a first meeting with a wholesaler. That doesn t include touchpoints from Sales. Understanding the ins and outs of these four steps is critical because that information will enable executives to figure out which levers need to be pulled to affect the ultimate outcomes. To that end, this report addresses four main research questions: 1. How can asset managers get the most out of developing lists of advisors to target, and how can those early efforts ripple through later steps in the process? 2. What are the best and most impactful practices in content marketing for fund firms (even firms with scarce resources)? 3. Where can internal wholesalers distinguish themselves in creating a dialogue with advisor prospects? 4. Which steps can externals take to boost the chance of earning a first advisor meeting? Rita Raagas De Ramos, Matthew Van Wagenen and Loren Fox, report co-authors 3 Opening Advisors Doors in Four Steps April 2016

4 Methodology This report is based on proprietary surveys of seven main audiences conducted by Ignites Distribution Research: 1. We surveyed national sales managers and other top sales executives at 20 asset management firms in September and October They represented firms managing a total of $930 billion in long-term mutual fund and ETF assets as of January We surveyed heads of marketing at 15 asset management firms in late 2015 and early 2016, representing $900 billion in long-term assets in mutual funds and ETFs as of January We surveyed heads of internal sales at 13 asset management firms in February March 2016, representing $1.4 billion in long-term assets in mutual funds and ETFs as of January We surveyed the Financial Times 400 Top Broker-Dealer Advisors, a list of top brokerdealer advisors from across the U.S. from wirehouses and independent and regional BDs. The average FT 400 advisor manages $1.7 billion in client assets and has 25 years of experience. The FT 400 members applied for inclusion in the list, which was published in the Financial Times; Ignites Distribution Research conducted the ranking. We surveyed 318 FT 400 advisors from November 2015 through January We surveyed the Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisors, a list of elite, independent RIA firms from across the U.S. with average AUM of $2.8 billion per firm. The FT 300 members applied for inclusion in the list, which was published in the Financial Times; Ignites Distribution Research conducted the ranking. We surveyed 213 FT 300 advisors from November 2015 through January We surveyed 155 midsize financial advisors, 75% of whom work at broker-dealers (including wirehouses) and 25% of whom work at independent RIAs. These advisors, surveyed in February, averaged $228 million in assets under management. 7. We surveyed 80 external wholesalers of mutual funds and ETFs from 56 different asset managers in February 2016; they average 12.5 years of experience as external wholesalers Money-Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction and distribution of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. 4 Opening Advisors Doors in Four Steps April 2016

5 Ignites Distribution Research is dedicated to helping asset managers build and strengthen their relationships with financial advisors. Using proprietary surveys, interviews, and analysis of third-party data, our specialized reports provide a 360-degree view of a key topic in the industry, yielding valuable insight and actionable recommendations. Core topics of coverage include: Wholesaling National Accounts Marketing Distribution Channels Advisor Behavior & Segmentation Product Strategy Clients include: Ameriprise Financial Broadridge Financial Solutions Delaware Investments Fidelity Invesco Morgan Stanley OppenheimerFunds T. Rowe Price Vanguard And many others For information on subscriptions or single-report purchase, please contact Ben Northover at BenN@Ignites.com or Personnel Loren Fox is Director of Research at Ignites Research. He had been a senior research analyst at Strategic Insight. Prior to that Loren was a journalist, working at Institutional Investor and elsewhere. He earned his BA from Johns Hopkins University and MS from Columbia University. Contact Loren at lfox@money-media.com Rita Raagas De Ramos is US Research Manager at Ignites Research, where she is part of the Distribution and Retirement services. She was previously the Managing Editor of Ignites Asia, and before that worked at Dow Jones Newswires, UPI, and elsewhere. She earned a BS from the University of the Philippines. Contact Rita at rderamos@money-media.com Matthew Van Wagenen is a Research Analyst at Ignites Research, where he helps probe retail distribution and DCIO issues. He was previously a senior analyst at Corporate Insight, researching the US brokerage industry; he has also worked in public relations. Matt earned his BS from Seton Hall University. Contact Matthew at mvanwagenen@money-media.com Michael Ferraro is the Operations Manager at Ignites Research, where he oversees the major processes and systems. Previously, he was the Manager of Direct marketing for MandateWire, Pensions Expert, DPN and Ignites Research. Michael currently holds a BS from York College of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Dowling College. Contact Mike at mferraro@money-media.com 5 Opening Advisors Doors in Four Steps April 2016