Trust and reputation are playing an increasing role in driving the satisfaction of investors with their primary provider, according to a new report.
Cerulli Associates, Boston, Mass., published this finding in the June issue of the “Cerulli Edge: U.S. Asset Management Edition.” The report examines the marketing strategies of investment advisory firms–including regional broker-dealers, subadvisory firms and participants in retirement plans–how investors perceive these firms in the market place.
In 2011, 19.4% of households polled cited reputation and trust as a reason for satisfaction with their provider. This compares with 14.7% of respondents in 2010.
Although reputational issues rank fourth among investors’ reasons for choosing a primary provider of investment services, perceptional issues, such as quality of service and referrals, rank equally high, according to the report. Ten percent of all households polled flagged reputation as the reason for choosing a primary provider.
Only four other reasons ranked higher. Among them: “Someone else chose for me” (14% of households), which in most cases was the company retirement plan; referral from a trusted source (13%); and quality of service (12%).