Fund managers fail adviser test

AUSTRALIA’S funds management and life insurance groups are failing to live up to the expectations of financial advisers in key performance criteria, a new report claims.

The report, produced by Taylor Management Consultants, was based on a survey of over 1,500 advisers conducted in October and November last year.

The survey found the five most important areas advisers expected funds management and life insurance groups to perform in were new business processing, investment performance, integrity, staff helpfulness and staff knowledge.

However, the study found fund managers and life insurers had performed below advisers’ expectations in all but one of these key areas, integrity.

According to the survey, investment performance was the area adviser’s felt most let down on by their fund managers.

Taylor Management Consultants principal Bill Taylor says the findings may signal a mismatch between the priorities of funds management and life insurance groups, and the advisers who sell their products.

However, the study found advisers were far more complimentary of the performance of their dealer groups.

The survey found the five most important services advisers seek from their dealers are training and development, technical support, product research, professional indemnity insurance and representative remuneration.

According to the study, dealer groups performed up to advisers’ expectations on all these key criteria except representative remuneration, where advisers felt the performance of dealers was slightly below expected standards.

“It is a reasonable level of performance for dealer groups,” Taylor says.

“Overall, the dealers have been doing their best to identify the needs of intermediaries and meet those needs.”

The survey also found that 83 per cent of respondents were members of a dealership network, a finding Taylor says reflects the growing influence of dealer groups in financial planning.