A source of much frustration

The dissatisfaction with client account statements is evident in the numbers. When you compare the overall average performance rating of 7.4 in the “client account statements” category vs the overall average importance rating of 8.6, it results in the largest “satisfaction gap” in the survey at 1.2 points.

Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that some advisors say the client account statements that their firms provide have improved – although they still leave much to be desired. In fact, Montreal-based Peak Financial Group, Ottawa-based Independent Planning Group Inc. and Calgary-based Portfolio Strategies Corp. all saw their ratings increase by half a point or more year-over-year.

Peak advisors, for instance, were happy with the improvements their firm has made to its client account statements.

“The firm has totally revamped its statements within the past year or so,” says a Peak advisor in British Columbia. “They’re now clearer and show useful information such as net gains and losses.”

That said, Peak advisors say their clients are more impressed with the account information they can access online. Says a Peak advisor in Ontario about the firm’s “online account access for clients”: “Clients often comment on how much clearer their online access is than their paper statements.”

Peak executives are aware of their clients’ interest in having online access to their account information. Thus, the firm now is focused on its online strategy, says Robert Frances, Peak’s president and CEO: “With online access, all the information is already there. With one click, our clients can personalize any information they need.”

Advisors with Portfolio Strategies also feel that the online access their firm provides offers more to clients than their traditional paper-based statements. In fact, at the request of advisors, the firm recently introduced an electronic delivery system for client statements, says Mark Kent, president and CEO of Portfolio Strategies.

“The online account access is more comprehensive than the paper statements,” says a Portfolio Strategies advisor in Alberta. “It’s easier to access all account breakdowns as well as previous client statements.”

And although Portfolio Strategies advisors also were more positive about their firm’s paper-based statements, they feel the firm still has some work to do.

“The layout is very poor, and clients often complain that they don’t know where all their money is allocated,” says a Portfolio Strategies advisor in Alberta. “For example, the statements don’t clearly indicate the book value or the market value.”

Confusing and inaccurate information also has advisors with Richmond Hill, Ont.-based Global Maxfin Investments Inc. frustrated with the client account statements their firm provides. Says a Global Maxfin advisor in Quebec: “[The statements] are not clear, and there’s been a lot of mistakes that weren’t corrected in a timely manner.”

Those errors now have been dealt with, says Bruce Day, Global Maxfin’s president, who says the firm has rectified every issue of which it has been made aware; in fact, it had hired a third-party specialist to help make the corrections.

Global Maxfin also has ramped up its efforts in online access, Day says: “Clients are fed up with all these paper statements. They throw them away; they don’t pay attention.”

So, in order to grab clients’ attention, the firm has recently given clients the option to receive electronic statements. Although there have been a few bumps in implementing this process – some advisors say the website has crashed on occasion – most advisors view this move as a positive step.

© 2012 Investment Executive. All rights reserved.