Insurance advisors have high expectations of their firms and managing general agencies (MGAs) regarding the products those firms make available for advisors to offer to their clients, whether it’s the depth and quality of the product shelf or how often a company brings something new to market.

By and large, advisors said their firms and MGAs are meeting those demands, even though companies can be a little slow off the mark at times in product innovation.

Two product-related categories in which firms are particularly excelling, according to the advisors surveyed for Investment Executive‘s 2015 Insurance Advisors’ Report Card, were “freedom to make objective choices for clients” and the “quality of the firm’s/MGA’s product offering,” which received overall average performance ratings of 9.3 and 8.8, respectively.

In addition, advisors said they especially value their freedom to make objective choices for clients, as the category received the second-highest overall average importance rating in the Report Card, at 9.6.

“We are independent, and that’s the thing that’s different about PPI Advisory – they provide us with advice and technology for free, but I’ve never felt obliged to sell more through the [MGA], even though that’s how it’s turned out to be over the years,” says an advisor on the Prairies with Toronto-based PPI Advisory.

Of course, advisors want to choose from the best, which also makes having the top-notch products within easy reach critical. Case in point: advisors gave the quality of their firm’s/MGA’s product offering an overall average importance rating of 9.4.

“Most of our products are in the three- to five-star rating range with Morningstar [Canada],” says an advisor in Ontario with London, Ont.-based Freedom 55 Financial. “We’re more conservative than most, and I think that’s where our strength lies.”

That conservative streak is something many advisors who ply their trade with the dedicated sales agencies and with Winnipeg-based Great-West Life Assurance Co.’s (GWL) Gold Key distribution network notice when their firms launch new investment products.

At first glance, the low average performance rating of 7.4 in the “bringing new investment products to market” category suggests that dedicated sales agencies are struggling to perform up to advisors’ expectations in this category. Yet, advisors’ comments tell a different story, as many survey participants said their firms’ sluggish approach is a benefit rather than a detriment.

For example, GWL advisors said their firm is by no means a leader in launching new products, and the low performance rating of 6.9 they gave their firm in this category indicates that. However, many GWL advisors appreciate working for a cautious firm.

“[GWL doesn’t] always offer the hottest trend right away, but it pays off,” says a GWL advisor in Quebec. “We’re stable and all our products are suitable.”

Bringing a new product to market for GWL is all about taking the long-term view, says Hugh Moncrieff, senior vice president of GWL’s Gold Key distribution network.

“We want to make sure that when we create a product,” he says, “it’s about creating significant long-term value for the people that buy it; that it’s a product that can be supported by our advisors; and that it’s something that we can profit from so that we can continue to invest in our company.”

Similarly, several advisors with Mississauga, Ont.-based RBC Life Insurance Co. noted that their firm’s process to modify products or launch something new can take well over a year.

In fact, Mike Hamilton, RBC Life’s senior vice president of sales and distribution, points out that the firm is not necessarily a leader; rather, RBC Life is a “fast follower” in bringing new investment products to market.

“Our view is that it doesn’t necessarily pay off to be No. 1 to market [with a product],” he says, “but rather to be the most efficient and easy to do business with, as well as answering the needs of our clients.”

That said, RBC Life advisors noticed some changes of late and rated their firm at 7.5 in the bringing new products to market category this year, a significant increase from 6.8 in 2014.

“[The firm is] modifying products, such as segregated funds, etc.,” says an RBC Life advisor in Quebec. “I have seen changes and improvements.”

Meanwhile, advisors with Waterloo, Ont.-based Sun Life Financial (Canada) Inc., who gave their firm a category-high performance rating of 7.7, pointed out that their company takes a proactive approach to launching new products.

“[Sun Life] is being innovative, they’re right out in front,” says a Sun Life advisor on the Prairies. “The organizations they engage with are the best.”

One of the most recent additions to their investment lineup that Sun Life advisors noticed is the launch of five segregated funds in May.

“I was very impressed,” says a Sun Life advisor in Alberta about the new suite of products.

Although Sun Life may be proactive in releasing new products, the process is by no means rushed, says Vicken Kazazian, senior vice president of Sun Life’s career sales force.

“Building a new product and launching it is very expensive, so, you have to make sure you’re hitting the right mark,” says Kazazian, noting that Sun Life accomplishes this goal through market research and consultations with its advisor sales force.

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