Leveling the Playing Field

According to The Online Opportunity: Building a Competitive Internet Presence, a trend report by Schwab Institutional released on August 19, investment advisors are now competing directly with larger institutions, attracting affluent investors, and increasing their client base through Internet presence development.

“Smaller businesses are discovering the Internet gives them new opportunities to communicate with their clients,” says Tim Welsh, director of marketing for Schwab Institutional. “The Internet now allows for small advisors and larger institutions to compete at the same level.”

The report also indicates how advisory firms have increased productivity with fully functional Web sites. “There is a large segment of clients, especially baby boomers, that want to collaborate more with their advisors, to be more involved with investment decisions,” adds Welsh. “Now they can go online and see what stocks were chosen, and follow their portfolio’s performance.”