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BlackRock and MainStay Tops in Wholesaler Satisfaction
by Lee
As you may have read in Ignites this morning, our recent FA Vision survey found that the most effective mutual fund company external wholesalers are those from BlackRock and MainStay Investments. The survey was (to our knowledge) the industry's largest-ever survey of financial intermediaries: 3,129 responses gathered between April 2nd and April 20th, 2009. We also announced that we are starting an FA Vision "Nugget of the Week" newsletter where we will share additional findings from FA Vision each week. I encourage you to sign up to receive these updates.
BlackRock's wholesalers, who received an FA Vision Wholesaler Effectiveness Score of 84 out of 100, are specifically acknowledged for their ability to help conduct client meetings. MainStay's wholesalers (83 out of 100) are especially recognized for their availability and responsiveness.
The firms with the highest Wholesaler Satisfaction Scores in the FA Vision survey are:
1. BlackRock
2. MainStay Investments / NYLIM
3. JPMorgan Asset Management
4. Nationwide Funds
5. MFS Investment Management
6. Natixis Funds
7. Ivy Funds
8. PIMCO / Allianz Funds
9. DWS Investments
10.Janus Capital Group
In the increasingly competitive mutual fund industry, firms must work to understand whether they are getting the most out of their investments in a wholesaling force. The best wholesaling forces are spending more time segmenting their advisor base and focusing their wholesalers' time. This is illustrated by the fact that each wholesaler from the firms with the best Wholesaler Satisfaction Scores meet with fewer advisors more frequently. Among advisors that meet with an external wholesaler, we found that the average producer meets with a firm 2.81 times per year. Wholesalers from the firms with the highest Wholesaler Satisfaction Scores meet significantly more frequently with their producers: BlackRock (3.80 meetings per year), Nationwide Funds (3.57), JPMorgan Asset Management (3.29) and MainStay Investments / NYLIM (3.27).
The Wholesaler Satisfaction Score is a weighted average of evaluations of a firm's external wholesalers by advisors who do business with that firm, in each of the following categories:
- Knowledge about their firm's products (22%)
- Knowledge about competitive products (20%)
- Availability / responsiveness (20%)
- Ability to deliver value-added programs (19%)
- Effectiveness of follow-up (19%)
Source: Horsesmouth and kasina - FA Vision