Press Release

Investment Advisors Forego Wallet Share
Primary Provider of Retirement Advice is Trusted with More Assets

December 19, 2008, Boston, MA – FUSE Research Network and Mast Hill Consulting announce the release of a new research study, Consumer Insights on Retirement Income: The Keys to a Competitive Advantage in Retirement Solutions. The study continues the widely-followed work of Mast Hill Consulting (MHC) in the retirement income space. Two key findings are:
  • Serving as the primary provider of retirement advice leads to 25 percentage points more in client wallet share
  • Pre- and post-retirement investors allocate 20 percentage points more in assets with providers where they have very high levels in trust (9 or 10 on a ten-point scale), which doubles the incremental allocation of a “satisfied” client.
“It makes sense that, above all else, investors want to work with people and firms whom they trust,” says Laura Varas, President of Mast Hill Consulting. “People in the industry tend to focus on engineering details, and often forget that how the customer experiences the solution is just as important, if not more so. We get intellectually engaged in the solution design and dismiss the customer experience as ‘soft.’ It turns out that this emotional side is what drives the business. And in fact, there’s nothing ‘soft’ about trust – post-crisis, we need to know whom we can trust.”

MHC and FUSE believe the engineering of new retirement solutions is critical, too, so the study lays out best practices in product design. “Ultimately, the solutions need to be robust for trust to continue, and to be deserved in the first place,” adds Varas. The study also reviews emerging new planning and product solutions, such as income replacement funds, personal pensions in defined contribution plans, and tax-smart overlay solutions.

“The finding that trust and planning advice are bigger business drivers than investment selection is very much aligned with what we at FUSE have espoused for years – that the value is in the assembly and presentation of packaged solutions,” says Michael Evans, President of FUSE Research Network.

This study is the first offering in the FUSE ConNext Series in which partners with specific expertise are sought out in order to deliver a higher level of value in terms of insights and recommendations. The ConNext Series represents a dramatic change from how research firms have traditionally presented information. Neil Bathon, the founding partner of FUSE Research Network, states, “Our sole focus is to improve the effectiveness of our clients’ sales, marketing, and product initiatives by providing the means to make faster and better informed decisions.”

In order to accomplish this, all FUSE services provide dynamic decision support through the inclusion of customized planning sessions, ongoing research updates, and expert discussion forums. “By joining forces with Mast Hill, we insure that our clients receive insights and guidance from a thought leader in retirement income,” added Bathon.

In today’s fast paced and ever changing business environment, the Fuse support model will extend the relevance of the research as much as 2-3 times longer than most competitors’ offerings by avoiding the “value erosion” that creeps in soon after completion of static research reports.

About FUSE Research Network LLC
FUSE Research Network was launched with the view that research and consulting support for asset managers has failed to evolve with the changing needs of the client. The competitive environment of the future will demand that clients make important business decisions within shorter and shorter timeframes.

In order to support clients in this setting, FUSE will provide a dynamic research platform that covers our clients’ current and future decision areas (strategic and tactical). Our goal to become an invaluable business partner through the delivery of highly informed and forward-looking recommendations that are among the critical inputs our clients need to optimize results.

The foundation upon which FUSE is built is as follows:
  • Ardent Client Advocacy
  • Absolute Candor & Objectivity
  • Decision Support Research
  • Incisive & Actionable Guidance
About PMR Associates LLC
PMR is a holding company whose objective is to link together complimentary service providers in order to deliver superior results for clients. Through organic growth and acquisition, PMR seeks to deliver real synergy to its affiliates by creating a platform for the sharing of marketplace contacts, connections, and insights.

About Mast Hill Consulting, Inc.
Mast Hill Consulting, Inc. specializes in research and consulting in the financial services industry, with an emphasis on retirement and investments. MHC is especially known for its expertise in the retirement income marketplace, and speaks frequently with senior management, sales forces, and at industry conferences on consumer needs, competitive landscape and best practices in the retirement income market and related topics.

MHC collaborated with FRC since 2004 as the Research Partner responsible for FRC’s acclaimed retirement income practice, authoring 6 advanced research studies, including:
  • IRA Rollover Dynamics 2008: Market Sizing, Benchmarks & Best Practices (2008)
  • Building & Positioning Retirement Income Solutions: Innovation from 2005 to 2007 & Beyond (2007)
  • Engaging PowerBoomers (2006)
  • Converting Retirement Income into Practice (2006)