In Practice May 22, 2007

Progress, Not Returns, Driver of Client Satisfaction

Clients want to know they are on their way to achieving life goals, not investment performance.
Reported by

According to a recent SEI Advisor Network Quick Poll, 50% of independent financial advisers said client satisfaction with regard to investment performance is most heavily influenced by progress against tangible life goals, not by how their portfolio is performing against the market or index benchmark.

 

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

 

“Clients want to understand how financial results impact their lives, not just their wallets,” said Steve Onofrio, Senior Managing Director, Sales and Support, SEI Advisor Network, in a news release. “Promising pure investment returns is no longer the key to client satisfaction – if two percent above benchmark returns still falls short of the ability to send a child to college, for example, that’s not going to satisfy any client.”

 

 

More than a quarter of respondents (28%) stated that absolute return was a driving factor in client satisfaction, while less than 10% cited performance against market benchmarks as a key driver.

 

 

The SEI Advisor Network Quick Poll was comprised of data from more than 100 independent financial advisers from around the world.

 

 

For more information, visit www.SEIAdvisorNetwork.com.

 

 

Products May 21, 2007

IndexIQ Strategies to be Used in New Managed Account Offering

IndexIQ Inc. has agreed to provide indexing solutions to Advisor Partners LLC, a separate account manager serving the professional high end adviser market.
Reported by
According to the announcement, Advisor Partners plans to use the solutions from IndexIQ Inc., developer of index and investment strategies, in offering a new family of managed account portfolios for family offices, independent advisers, and wealth managers. The strategies will include large cap growth, core and value offerings, as well as emerging markets and small cap value products.
The new managed account products will seek to combine the alpha generated by the best active managers with the benefits of indexing, such as rules-based methodologies, tax efficiency, and low costs, the announcement said. The new Separately Managed Account portfolios will be available starting in the third quarter of 2007.
“Our strategies use a proprietary construction process to provide a bridge between traditional passive investing and the potential for alpha offered by the best active managers,’ said Adam S. Patti, Chief Executive Officer of IndexIQ, in the announcement. “Because they are index-based, our products achieve this at lower cost than traditional managed accounts. We believe this combination of features will prove very attractive to Investment Advisory firms such as Advisor Partners going forward.’
More information can be obtained at www.indexiq.com or www.advisorpartners.com.

«