The information asset managers do and don't provide on their websites and the ease of access to that information have become key drivers of strong intent to invest and high Net Promoter Scores.
However, according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Advisor Online Experience Study, released Thursday, many asset managers are missing the mark on basic website navigation and functionality, which results in a significant gap in satisfaction between top- and bottom-ranked firms.
"Asset managers need to recognize that their websites are often the most significant touchpoint they have with advisors," Mike Foy, senior director of wealth intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a statement. "We've all become accustomed to being able to quickly find information online without having to pick up the phone or send an email for every question."
The same experience applies to the advisor-asset manager relationship, Foy said. "Advisors are significantly more likely to invest more with a firm that makes it easy for them to quickly find the information and tools they need. Some firms are delivering on that promise, while others are lagging far behind."
J.D. Power said it redesigned and renamed the U.S. Advisor Online Experience Study, previously known as the Advisor Digital Engagement Study, this year to reflect the increasingly prominent role that asset manager websites play in the day-to-day workflow of financial advisors.
The study explores how financial advisors interact with asset manager websites as part of their practice of helping clients build and manage optimal portfolios. It evaluates advisor interaction with asset manager websites based on speed, information/content, visual appeal and navigation. The new study, fielded during the summer, is based on 3,104 total evaluations.
Key Findings
The study found that 93% of advisors that give overall satisfaction scores of 800 or higher to an asset manager's website, on a 1,000-point scale, said they were extremely likely to increase investment during the next three months with that firm.
However, only 11% of evaluations have conferred these high scores on asset managers. Similarly, those asset manager firms with the highest levels of overall satisfaction also had an NPS of 89, the highest in the study.
The firms in the top-performing quintile are BlackRock, Capital Group and JPMorgan.
