Products August 14, 2012

Securian Refines Tool to Track Plans, Streamline Servicing

The financial services provider Securian enhanced its Book of Business tool to allow advisers to see their Securian accounts from a number of angles.
Reported by

The online tool lets retirement plan advisers look at their accounts in the aggregate to see marketing opportunities, the company said.

Book of Business provides access to client servicing information, reports and data on one Web page from which data can be downloaded into a spreadsheet for data mining and further analysis.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

“Our Book of Business is designed to help advisers easily assist their Securian clients, enhance relationships and increase cash flow,” said Vince Giordano, national sales vice president, retirement plans.

Book of Business can generate a summary that gives relevant plan and investment data to help clients complete periodic plan reviews concisely and on time. Step-by-step instructions included on accessing communication materials and using reports on customized service strategies and targeted participant campaigns. Advisers can also track client-specific performance, expenses and ratings.

According to Vince Giordano, national sales vice president, retirement plans at Securian, the tools are designed to help the company’s producers provide value to plan sponsors and maximize opportunities within the existing client base. “It’s no secret that it’s easier to generate more business with current clients than to add new ones,” Giordano said.

 

Data & Research August 14, 2012

Midsize RIAs Rely Heavily on Low-Cost Mutual Funds, ETFs

Registered investment advisers (RIAs) with more than $500 million in assets under management, on the other hand, invest more in alternative investments, a report found.

Reported by

This defies the prevailing wisdom that the RIA marketplace is splintered, with all RIAs assumed to be unique. Thus, it is possible for asset managers to develop a strategy to work with different RIA groups—and they would be wise to target the underserved, mid-RIA market, Cerulli Associates said. Further, unlike their broker/dealer counterparts, midsize RIAs do not require funds that carry revenue-sharing commissions—rendering this subset of the RIA channel more profitable than dealing with large RIAs or broker/dealers, Cerulli said in its August report on U.S. asset management.

It is also easier to reach RIAs than it is broker/dealers, which have gatekeepers to screen product offerings, Cerulli noted. In addition, RIAs do not have the luxury of sales support, market commentary, asset-allocation tools or research.

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

Half, or 49%, of midsize RIAs said they use mutual funds, compared with 39% of RIAs with more than $500 million in assets under management, Cerulli found in the survey.

The key is to approach midsize RIAs with low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, Cerulli said. “Advisers within midsize practices have neither the time nor the accumulated expertise to personally manage client relationships alongside well-diversified portfolios built upon individual securities,” the Cerulli report said. “Thus, these advisers rely on fund managers to fill gaps in the money management expertise of the RIA practice.”

Tyler Cloherty, senior analyst at Cerulli Associates, commented: “Industry  experts quip that ‘every RIA is different,’ but they neglect the fact that distinct product preferences separate midsize firms from their larger counterparts.”

«