Close to half of advisors (45%) said that printed materials such as fact sheets, thought leadership articles and value-added practice support that help develop knowledge are more helpful than company profiles and product pitch books, finds a Wealthmanagement.com and FUSE research network which was sponsored by Met Life Premier Client Group.
More than 771 advisors participated in the survey. Though the research was carried out in USA, it could be expected to hold in the Indian context too.
Most advisors were interested in a broad range of value added program topics, with economic and market insights ranking as most interesting and alternative investments ranked the least interesting, finds the survey.
Further, the survey shows that advisors value direct interactions with AMCs, such as speaking at company events and participating in training programs as more effective means of shaping their opinions.
On an average, advisors from all categories are more interested in printed materials in general, ranking fact sheets (7.6 points) as the most useful to help them develop their product knowledge.
Brand awareness of AMCs
Not surprisingly, the familiarity with an AMC’s brand affected advisors’ practices differently. Slightly more advisors reported that brand awareness of an AMC had a real impact on client acquisition (34%) and client retention (28%) than on product knowledge (26%). The biggest impact of brand awareness was in helping to generate greater comfort and familiarity with the investment firm (41%).
