Credit Suisse Asset Managementhas today announced a series of aggressive measure designed to boost its stakes amongst financial planners in an otherwise mooted investment environment.
The measures will see Credit Suisse slash its minimum investment amounts, drop fees on its retail cash options and make a one-off administrative payment of 0.3 per cent back to those advisers who place significant new business with the group over coming months.
Credit Suisse head of distribution Brian Thomas says the measures were prompted by a need to combat an overtly negative investment environment for financial planners, their clients and the funds management groups that service them.
“If you look at things from a client’s point of view and a financial planner’s point of view, these are definitely turbulent times – turbulent in terms of amazing volatility and negative returns in stock markets both in Australia and offshore,” Thomas says.
Thomas says the one-off administrative payment, to be made to advisers who place more than $1 million of new business in Credit Suisse’s retail funds between October 14 this year and February 28 next year, was designed as an inducement for financial adviser to switch clients into Credit Suisse funds.
“If a planner decides the time is right to change some of their retail clients around, the administrative payment will help with the cost,” Thomas says.
The drop in the minimum initial investment, from $10,000 to $5000 for Credit Suisse’s retail Private Investment Funds and Super and Rollovers products, is aimed at making the group’s funds more accessible, Thomas says.
The reduction of the management fee on Credit Suisse’s retail cash option, by 60 per cent, were aimed at advisers looking to wait out poor investment markets by parking client’s funds in cash, Thomas say.
“[Advisers] are finding investors are more risk averse and are looking to invest in cash and slowly move into more aggressive funds,” he says.
Credit Suisse is also working with a leading research house to produce a paper on the most appropriate portfolio design in the current investment environment. The paper will be made available to financial advisers free of charge, Thomas says.
“These are extreme times and these measures are the types of things you do once in a decade,” Thomas says.
