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Another Starbucks Question

by Corianna

In December, Lindsay wrote a blog piece inspired by Mark Penn's new book, Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes. Lindsay recounted Penn's comparison of "Starbucks economy" of today, to the "Ford economy" of the twentieth century. Penn argues that consumer attitudes have moved from the ideal of mass production to that off mass customization. Starbucks, with its crowded menu of caffeine, milk, and flavor combinations, is undoubtedly the poster-child of 21st century customization. Who, Lindsay asked, would be the Starbucks of the asset management world?

In some ways, the asset management industry, with its cornucopia of funds, already looks a lot like Starbucks' menu. Indeed, you might think that everyone should be able to find what he or she is looking for from the industry's innumerable offerings.

It's not that simple, though; offering many things is not synonymous with offering customization. Customization is about more than just options; it's about experience. I suspect that customers--advisors and investors alike--aren't exactly awash in waves of joy when they see long mutual fund product lists. They are, I imagine, rather overwhelmed. I think it's time to step away from the Starbucks analogy. It's time to ask what customization asset-management-style looks like. And there's an answer: customization, asset management style, looks like UMAs. So, I'd like to tag a line onto Lindsay's question: Who, I want to know, will be the first to make UMAs available to the average asset management customer?