The expected outcome of the Royal Commission is prompting financial planners to see their future role as entailing being asset allocators rather than being either fund or stock pickers, according to new research from Investment Trends.
The Investment Trends 2018 Adviser Product and Marketing Needs Report, released this week, has pointed to a financial planning community focused on capital preservation in the face of market volatility and the likely impacts of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.
The research suggests that goals or objectives-based advice and responsible investing are fast emerging themes for advisers, and that the in the last 12 months the proportion of planners saying they are familiar with the concept has risen from 56 per cent to 62 per cent.
It said that, similarly, the proportion who said they provided advice on responsible investing had increased markedly from 19 per cent to 34 per cent in the last two years.
The Investment Trends research also, for the first time, measured the brand impact and footprint of fund managers it he Australian space and ranked them accordingly, with the rankings reflecting the strength of a fund manager’s profile relative to its peers.
The top five managers were assessed as being:
- Magellan
- Vanguard
- CFS
- Challenger
- Macquarie
Commenting on the outcome, Investment Trends research director, Recept Peker said certain fund managers did better at converting awareness into planner relationships.
“Those who stand out do so through a deep understanding of how the product fits with the communication and support needs of planners and their clients,” he said.
