ING rates high with consumers

Managed funds remain one of the most popular choices for Australian retail investors, according to new Nielsen research, but it warns that the new year will bring increasing challenges for both fund managers and advisers.

The Nielsen data, released today, said that the continuing strong performance of the Australian equities market had continued to attract new managed fund investors, with 8 per cent of consumers citing an intention to open a managed fund account for the first time in the next six months.

The Nielsen data revealed that where client satisfaction was concerned, the top five fund managers by share of accounts were:

>ING Australia/ANZ 66 per cent;

>Colonial 58 per cent;

>AMP 58 per cent;

>Westpac/BT 57 per cent; and

>MLC 51 per cent.

However, according to Nielsen director, financial services, Glenn Wealands the year ahead will bring new challenges for both fund managers and advisers, particularly as they seek to capture new clients.

“With an increasing number of affluent, web-savvy Generation Ys expressing interest in investment markets, fund managers and advisers will need to ensure their value proposition is clearly being articulated and that their online channel provides a compelling response to prospective clients’ needs,” Wealands said.

He said this would be particularly the case with respect to unit prices and fees and charges.

Wealands said that the long running strength in the Australian equities market had acted as a magnet in attracting new clients to managed funds as well as direct share trading.

However, he said the threat of a downturn in markets meant that fund managers and advisers would need to, now more than ever, maintain their relevance by keeping their clients updated regularly.