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The Big 3 Institutional e-Business Issues

By Johanna Willer

On one of the coldest days in New York City's recent history, 25 e-Business executives from top asset management firms gathered to discuss key trends and challenges within the institutional space. The 3 big issues we saw emerge include the following:


Issue 1: Striking the Right Organizational Balance

e-Business leaders take varying approaches to positioning their teams as a key player in accomplishing firms' strategic goals. For example, some firms have adopted a shared service model, which incorporates all Web-related skills for all business lines under one umbrella. In contrast, other firms have focused on being as integrated as possible with Sales and Marketing business partners.

While there are efficiency advantages to centralizing all Web-related responsibilities, integration with the institutional business is of paramount importance to ensure e-Business isn't an afterthought.


Issue 2: Increasing Adoption - Selling the Site

To parody a famous movie line:

"If you build it, they won't just come."

Even the best sites need an audience to be deemed successful. Firms are stepping up and getting creative in their efforts to engage clients online. For example, one top firm saw a great increase in the number of clients registered for the Web site after introducing a contest in which the person who registered the greatest number of clients for the site won a laptop.

Too often e-Business teams feel hamstrung when it comes to getting clients to use the site, citing the unresponsiveness of internal partners and lack of direct access to clients. However, the tactics of a few top firms illustrate that effort and a dose of creativity can engage both internal and external stakeholders online.


Issue 3: The Future is Here - Technology in the Institutional Channel

The future generation of Web savvy investors is coming. Institutional e-Business has been slow to the game thus far, lagging behind its intermediary and direct counterparts. Still, signs indicate that the tide is turning. To date, one top firm has created a streamlined version of the institutional Web site specifically for sales teams to access with mobile devices. This site focuses on product and other support information and gives road warriors easy access to the data they need.

While not all new hot technologies will make sense for institutional clients, it is more important than ever that e-Business dedicate time and energy to staying current on new Web developments with the potential to impact the business. The institutional investor of tomorrow will expect it.

These are exciting times for institutional e-Business, and we at kasina thoroughly enjoyed discussing these issues and the myriad others that will continue to challenge e-Business.