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Going Global...Where to Start?
by Lindsay
As asset managers look to expand into global markets, the natural question is: Where do we start? With global internet usage growing rapidly, particularly in developing markets, the Web is the most scalable resource for firms looking to promote their brand, products, and services to retail investors overseas. To take advantage of this scalability, many asset managers have begun building out global Web presences to showcase their global reach and local knowledge.
Curious to see what was out there, kasina scoured upwards of 1000 sites and was underwhelmed, to say the least. Not to be discouraged, we set out to identify those firms whose holistic global presences were ahead of the pack across a variety of criteria. The result of this effort is our first annual Top 10 Global Retail Asset Management Web sites.
Writing this report gave us a new respect for the effort that goes into building and maintaining a global Web presence: accurately translating content into countless languages as not to deter local users, conforming to local cultural norms without compromising the global brand, trying to leverage content across countries with different products and distribution channels... the list goes on.
While the 10 firms on our list are doing at least a few of these things better than their competitors, there is a huge opportunity for other firms to match or surpass current offerings. Particularly in developing markets, existing Web sites for retail investors contain fairly sparse, static content and offer little in the way of advanced functionality or servicing capabilities
We expect this to change, and change quickly, in coming years, as the competition in global markets heats up and firms begin to push the envelope with more innovative design, robust content, and sophisticated functionality. We're excited to discuss what it takes to build a great global Web presence and how firms can join the ranks of next year's Top 10. Drop me a line if you would like to find out more!