Financial Advisors' Views of Service Report Reveals IFAs' Attitudes towards the Service Offered by Life Companies and Mutual Fund Providers in the UK

Business Wire, Oct 16, 2008

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/262305/financial_advisors) has announced the addition of the "Financial Advisors' Views of Service" report to their offering.

A survey based study examining how aspects of provider service are affecting the business of financial advisors in the UK. The report gauges how well providers are supporting IFAs to minimize the time spent on administrative tasks and allowing them to concentrate on core competencies.

Highlights of this title

This report identifies & analyses key issues relating to providers service offerings to IFAs. Advisors prefer to conduct business on the telephone rather than online. An assessment of how well providers are harnessing the full benefit of their expensive investments is important, particularly for service efficiency & considerable cost saving.

Key reasons to purchase this title

- Gives access to The proprietal survey of UK IFAs from Q1 2008.

- Gives detailed assessment of IFAs' views of life companies and mutual fund providers and their service offerings.

- Helps clients design their service proposition to meet the needs of IFAs, providing knowledge of the most likely service aspects to be demanded.

Key Topics Covered:

Overview

Catalyst

Summary

Methodology

Executive Summary

Key Issue - Advisors time spend on administration tasks

Introduction to Datamonitor's Q2 2008 financial advisor survey

The average annual turnover of IFAs in this sample is 328,000

The IFA industry is characterized principally by average case sizes of less than 5,000

Business is more highly concentrated among a small number of mutual fund providers than it is in the more disparate life market

Advisors invest the highest percentages of their life and pensions business with Skandia, Aviva and Standard Life

Advisors conduct the highest percentages of their mutual fund business with Fidelity and Invesco Perpetual

Financial advisors have a positive view of Skandia, Standard Life and Aviva as life companies

Skandia is perceived particularly strongly

Abbey is viewed more negatively by IFAs than other life companies

IFAs find that many providers product sets do not match their business model

Invesco Perpetual and Fidelity rank top among mutual fund providers, while HSBC is at the bottom

IFAs are hindered by the burden of administration

IFAs spend more than half of the working week undertaking administrative tasks

Research, paperwork and compliancy take the most time out of advisors working week

Sole traders in particular need support from providers to reduce their administrative burden

Skandia and Fidelity are seen as offering superior service

Skandia is seen as offering the best service among life companies

Abbey is perceived as offering relatively poor service to its advisor clients

Fidelity offers high service levels, while HSBC offers the weakest service among mutual fund providers

Aspects of service are crucial in advisors relationship with providers

1.7 billion a year lost by advisors undertaking admin tasks

Improvements to aspects of service can add value

Standard Life received the highest ranking in all mediums of service

Speed and efficiency of service are vital aspects for financial advisors

Advisors favor using telephones over conducting business online

Online services are important to financial advisors

The ease with which online systems can be used is important in increasing IFAs perception of service

The ease with which online systems can be used is more important to small IFAs

Efficiency and speed of use varies between products

69% of IFAs do not process bond applications online

Fund supermarkets and wrap platforms have influenced the way in which providers online systems are used

Life assurance applications when conducted online by IFAs are very lengthy

Financial advisors prefer to work with knowledgeable domestic call centers

Frequent face-to-face contact from providers is desired by advisors

Contact and case ownership will improve trust and reliance between advisors and providers

Some providers do not offer face-to-face contact

Overall, advisors want more communication

APPENDIX

List of Tables

List of Figures

Companies Mentioned:

- Skandia

- Aviva

- Standard Life

- Invesco Perpetual

- Abbey

- HSBC

- Fidelity

- Standard Life

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/262305/financial_advisors

Source: Datamonitor