Asset managers have navigated an unprecedented period during the past 18 months. Despite the disruption and changes brought on by the pandemic, advisors continue to value asset managers’ support. Advisors were asked to rank the importance level of support that asset managers provide to benefit their practices. Overall, the three most valued (“very important”) activities were market insights, access to product/portfolio specialists, and practice management value-add programs.

• By offering tools and resources to help the advisor grow their practice and become more profitable, marketing can generate goodwill, which ultimately creates a better chance for the wholesaler to close on a product sale.
• More than 90% of advisors consider practice management value-add programs to be important. Wirehouse advisors placed the most value on practice management content with 56% deeming this type of value-add program to be very important (compared to 47% of all advisors).
• Growing complexity of asset manager’s product offerings means that specialist support will become even more essential as more managers introduce active ETFs, illiquid alternatives, and other novel products and solutions. Most advisors rated access to product/portfolio specialists to be important, with 52% deeming them to be very important.

 Importance of Asset Manager Support

Source: FUSE Advisor Trend Monitor, Advisor Top Trends for 2021, March 2021