If there’s one thing that has remained consistent in Investment Executive’s Report Card series, it’s that advisors continually voice their dissatisfaction when it comes to their firms’ performance in the “technology tools and advisor desktop,” “back office and administrative support” and “client account statements” categories — and this year was no exception.

But there has been a notable change, in that “firm’s image with the public” and “firm’s delivery on promises” — categories in which firms have historically performed strongly overall — were also being thrown into the mix of complaints.

Dissatisfaction levels become evident when examining the gap between the overall importance ratings advisors give each category and the performance ratings they bestow upon their firms. The firms’ delivery on promises and public image scores saw an increased gap between these ratings this year, which could indicate that advisors’ expectations were on the rise in these key areas during the difficult times.

“The support-related promises have been broken,” says an advisor in British Columbia with Toronto-based ScotiaMcLeod Inc. “It’s the same at most firms. The reality is that now there is less money to go around and less time and effort available from middle management.”

As for concerns about the public image of firms, an advisor in Saskatchewan with Toronto-based CIBC Wood Gundy says: “We have problems with our parent company. We have been voted as ‘the bank most likely to back into a sharp object.’ We’ve had our share of bad publicity.”

And while dissatisfaction levels have grown in these key categories, they’ve become even more acute in the back-office and technology tools categories. This jump in the disconnection between importance and performance ratings indicates that satisfaction levels in these areas are decreasing.

Advisors surveyed for IE’s Report Card series don’t understand what it is about these areas that their firms just can’t seem to get right. The technology tools category has the largest dissatisfaction gap, 1.2 points between the importance rating (8.8) and the performance rating (7.6). When looking at the gaps across the channels, it is the bank- and credit union-based advisors who were the most displeased, rating the category at 9.1 overall in importance and only at 7.0 in performance — for a gap of 2.1 points. Specifically, advisors complained of technology that is not user-friendly but is time-consuming and of software programs that are in dire need of updating.

“We are using a stone tablet and a chisel,” says an advisor in Saskatchewan with Toronto-based Bank of Montreal. “We are still running a DOS-based mutual fund platform, and working with outdated technology has become a struggle.”





@page_break@Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada is the leader in technology among the banks and credit unions, with a top rating of 9.0 in the category. RBC has spent a considerable amount of money in the past couple of years on its suite of financial planning tools and its client-relationship management tools, says Michael Walker, vice president and head of branch investments with RBC: “It’s about making sure that we are constantly helping our advisors use the tools with their clients.”

When it comes to the dealer channel, advisors are most dissatisfied with their firms’ back office and administrative support, as there was a 1.3-point gap between the importance rating (9.1) and the performance rating (7.8). Advisors complained of communication barriers and high turnover rates.

Says an advisor in Alberta with Burlington, Ont.-based Manulife Securities: “No one has a clue what’s going on there; you speak to different people and you always get different answers.”

Adds an advisor in Ontario with Toronto-based DundeeWealth Inc. : “There is a high turnover of new people, and it is hard to follow sometimes — especially in periods of high volume.”

Mississauga, Ont.-based PFSL Investments Canada Ltd. and Ottawa-based Independent Planning Group Inc. have both managed to keep their back offices running smoothly with minimal employee turnover, resulting in top ratings. When it comes to technology and back-office capabilities, IPG has been working with its proprietary software, Virtual Office, which it launched in 2003.

Says Vince Valenti, IPG’s presi-dent: “Virtual Office offers advisors many productivity, client-management and compliance tools to help manage a viable client practice.”

For insurance advisors, an area that remains an issue is client account statements. Advisors complained of statements that are sent out only annually and that do not contain enough information for clients, such as providing rates of returns on segregated funds.

Says an advisor in Ontario with London, Ont.-based Freedom 55 Financial: “The statements are very choppy and not consolidated onto one sheet, which is not helpful to clients.”

Advisors across all channels voiced similar complaints, stating that client account statements consistently lack information and are difficult to comprehend.

Says an advisor in Quebec with Montreal-based National Bank Financial Ltd.: “There is no annual rate of return and no date of inception on the statements.”

Toronto-based TD Waterhouse Private Investment Advice, Vancouver-based Vancouver City Savings Credit Union and DundeeWealth all struggled to provide adequate statements, advisors say; those firms all had ratings of 6.9 or less in the category.

Conversely, PFSL and RBC were the highest-rated firms in the category, both with a score of 8.7, while Toronto-based Richardson GMP Ltd. was a close second, at 8.6.

Says an RBC advisor in Ontario: “We are one of the few banks that show the rate of return — and that’s a real plus for my clients.” IE