Advisers Want Better Asset Manager Tech

The report suggests that financial advisers often visit asset manager websites for information and services they cannot find elsewhere. To become a preferred provider, though, asset managers will have to reshape their messages, and focus on anticipating and responding to advisers’ business needs to ensure lasting success.

Nearly 500 U.S. financial advisers representing 97 firms were polled for the most recent edition of kasina’s annual report, “What Advisors Do Online.” The results show that advisers are interested in taking advantage of mobile, online and social media technologies to learn about investment strategies and products. Advisers also appear interested in new technologies to assist in interactions with investment product wholesalers and their own clients, the report suggests.

“Advisers 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 advisers,” explains Julia Binder, director at kasina and author of the report.

This report also reveals that about half of advisers want firms to personalize online content to their needs—actually a decline from past editions of the research. The report explains this as a result of stagnant innovation among most asset managers in customizable online content.

In addition, 71% of advisers want asset managers to let them choose the topics, managers, and products included in subscription emails. However, there are only 43% of firms that offer subscription email services at all, according to kasina.

“The need to personalize and customize the user experience is the focus of many of our recent discussions with our asset management clients,” explains Michael Cogburn, a senior consultant at kasina.

Other results from the report show email is by far the preferred notification option for advisers willing to receive asset manager content, with 86% of advisers preferring email. A little more than half of advisers (54%) connect with wholesalers on LinkedIn.

More information is available on the What Advisors Do Online 2014 research page.