A kasina study reaffirms that financial advisers align superior digital capabilities with the likelihood that they will use products offered by asset managers and insurers.
kasina’s annual study, “What Advisors Do Online,” found nearly two-thirds of advisers connect their use of products to superior online presences of firms.
One of the major changes in how advisers are adapting to a digital world is their use of mobile devices, kasina found. “Only 9.4% of advisers were likely to access adviser sites using mobile devices in 2010,” says Lee Kowarski, co-founder and principal of kasina. “But in 2011, 40.6% of advisers access adviser sites of asset managers and 21.5% of advisers are using mobile apps developed by asset managers.” However, only 54% of asset managers and insurers have a mobile strategy for financial advisers.
“Expectations for a firm’s digital footprint have expanded beyond the Web site and e-mail to include key features of social networking and mobile access,” says Kowarski. “Busy advisers spend an average 5 hours a day online. Firms need to ensure that the time spent on their sites, apps, and e-mails is rewarding and productive.”
The study examines advisers’ digital preferences and behaviors for Web sites, email, social networks, and mobile devices and is based on results from kasina’s FA Vision survey research conducted in July 2011 in partnership with Horsesmouth, an online community of financial advisers. Findings are based on responses from 565 U.S. financial advisers representing 135 firms.
For more information about the report, visit www.kasina.com/reports.
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BofA Creates Global Wealth & Retirement Solutions Division
In an internal memo released today, Andy Seig announced the reorganization of the Global Investment Solutions (GIS) and Retirement Services (RS) teams to form Global Wealth & Retirement Solutions (GWRS).
In the memo, Seig announced he will be heading up GWRS. “By integrating the two groups, we ensure that both clients and advisers will have access to the most comprehensive, relevant and innovative set of products and services in the marketplace,” he wrote. The “streamlined structure” will “better align our businesses with fast-growing market segments and more quickly translate our capabilities and intellectual capital into powerful solutions for our clients,” he added.
Rich Linton will continue to lead GWRS efforts in the small-business market as head of Business Retirement Solutions (BRS) (see “BofA Merrill Lynch Adds Two to Retirement Team”).He will continue to oversee the Advisor Alliance 401(k) program, as well as other small business retirement products such as SEP & Simple programs.In addition, he will work with the Consumer Bank and the Business Bank to broaden the wealth advisory capabilities delivered to small businesses. Tom Joseph will join the BRS team, reporting to Linton.
Kevin Crain, previously Head of Institutional Client Relationships, will assume a new role heading Institutional Retirement & Benefit Services (IRBS).He will lead GWRS efforts in the institutional market, focused on 401(k), equity compensation, defined benefit, and non-qualified deferred compensation programs, as well as the institutional investment consulting business. Significantly, Crain will introduce further segment focus in IRBS, the memo said.
Steve Ulian will now report to Crain in a new role leading the Large Market Client team, while Joe Mrozek will report to Crain heading the Middle Market Client team. Rick Irace will join IRBS from Technology & Operations and assume Ulian’s current role leading the IRBS product platform. Finally, Tom McAuliffe will continue to lead the Institutional Consulting Group (ICG), and will also report to Crain (see “McAuliffe to Join BofA Merrill Lynch Retirement Services”).
David Tyrie will now head Personal Wealth & Retirement (PWR), a new group that brings together Client Solutions Group (CSG) and Personal Retirement Solutions (PRS) teams (see “BofA Merrill Lynch Hires Head of Personal Retirement Services”). The integration of these teams will position Tyrie to lead GWRS efforts in the high-net-worth market, with a particular focus on the opportunities associated with demographic shifts and the changing nature of retirement. This new group will include Insurance & Annuities, IRA and 529 product areas, as well as CSG specialists. The Personal Wealth & Retirement group went through a restructuring earlier this year as well (see “BofA Merrill Lynch Restructures Personal Retirement Team”).
Other positions discussed in the memo were:
Barry Lindenbaum will continue to lead Technology & Operations for the Retirement business, working closely with Institutional Clients.Bill Bridy will continue to lead Operations for Investment Solutions.Both Barry and Bill will continue as key members of my leadership team, directly reporting to Mark Alexander.
Justin Ferri will head Alternative Investments and Select Client Solutions. In this expanded role, Ferri will continue to lead AI efforts and will focus on the integrated delivery of products and capabilities from across GWRS to the ultra-high-net-worth market.
Mark Curtis will continue to lead International Investment Solutions. In this role, Curtis will continue to ensure the ongoing delivery of our global investment product platform to clients and Advisors across the international regions.
Keith Glenfield will serve as the Chief Operating Officer for GWRS, reporting to John Hogarty.
Reporting directly to Seig will be Lorna Sabbia, who will head the Managed Solutions Group (MSG). In this new role, Sabbia will focus on driving innovation and strategic progress in MSG, particularly through the execution of BofA’s Single Experience Strategy.Gene Mulligan will remain a senior member of the MSG team, reporting to Sabbia.In addition, the Global Funds team, led by Pete Thatch, will now report to Sabbia, as will the investment partner relationship management team, headed by John Pavese.
Lisa Shalett will head an expanded Investment Management & Guidance (IMG) group, with Rick Galiardo and the Portfolio Strategies Desk (PSD) joining the IMG team reporting to Shalett. Seig says this realignment will help ensure the strongest coordination of near- and longer-term portfolio views and enable GWRS to leverage most effectively the talent on the PSD team.