Cogent Reports: T. Rowe, AB, J.P. Morgan and MFS Join American Funds as Leaders in Business Building Support

Business Wire

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As getting face time with advisors becomes increasingly difficult, it’s more important than ever for wholesaler forces to ensure their advisor interactions are effective and impactful. To better understand the factors that drive wholesaler success, Cogent Reports measures advisor satisfaction with specific aspects of the wholesaler interaction including the top driver of purchase intent, “business-building ideas and support to my practice.” In Q4 2017, T. Rowe Price, AB, J.P. Morgan Funds, MFS and American Funds earn the strongest satisfaction with business building support among advisors managing at least $25 million in assets, according to Cogent Beat™ Advisor, a Cogent Reports™ portal from Market Strategies International.

“The role of the wholesaler is evolving as advisors seek less frequent, and more strategic interactions,” said Meredith Lloyd Rice, vice president at Market Strategies International. “As firms compete for the limited attention of elite advisors, firms’ ability to deliver business building support on a more consultative, personal level will be critical. Firms that equip their wholesalers with the right information to better understand and anticipate advisors’ unique business needs will be positioned to succeed.”

“However, the competition is fierce,” added Linda York, senior vice president at Market Strategies International. “American Funds and Franklin Templeton were the only mutual fund companies to achieve above-average ratings on both wholesaler reach and impact in Q4 2017. As they were the only firms to achieve our “Idolize” rating in our Wholesaler Impact on Future Investment™ (WIFI) analysis, it’s clear that developing effective and impactful wholesaler forces is complex and takes more than just performing well on one metric.”

Top 10 Mutual Fund Companies in Business Building Support from External Wholesalers—Q4 2017

Rank			Firm
1			T. Rowe Price
2			AB (AllianceBernstein)
3			J.P. Morgan Funds
4			MFS Investment Management
5			American Funds
6			Franklin Templeton Investments
7			Fidelity Investments
8			Lord Abbett
9			Legg Mason
10			Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Base: Advisors with at least $25 million in AUM

Source: Market Strategies International. Cogent Reports™. Cogent Beat^TMAdvisor. Q4 2017.

About Cogent Beat^TMAdvisor

This analysis is based on data collected via Cogent Beat™ Advisor, Cogent Reports’ web-based platform that allows real-time analysis of advisors’ evolving perceptions, usage and intentions regarding leading mutual fund and ETF providers. Cogent Beat Advisor solicits feedback from 350 to 400 financial advisors each month in the RIA, National wirehouse, Independent, Regional and Bank channels. Survey participants were required to have an active book of business of at least $5 million, and offer investment advice or planning services to individual investors on a fee or transactional basis. As always, we take great care to ensure that the population of advisors included in Cogent Beat Advisor is representative of the universe of advisors. We accomplish this by setting quota targets by AUM, channel, age, gender and region as identified by the Discovery Data Financial Services Industry database.

About Market Strategies International

Market Strategies International is a research and consulting partner with deep expertise in financial services, trusted by the world’s most successful wealth, banking, payments and insurance organizations to help them thrive. We blend primary research with data from our syndicated, benchmarking and self-funded studies to provide clients with exceptional research insight that helps solve their challenges. Our research specialties include brand, communications, CX, product development and segmentation. Our syndicated products, known as Cogent Reports, help clients understand the market environment, explore industry trends and monitor their brand within the competitive landscape. Founded in 1989, Market Strategies is one of the largest market research firms in the world. Read Market Strategies’ blog at FreshMR, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.