AIM Funds Management Inc. has topped the list of 12 mutual fund company Web sites for financial professionals ranked by financial services research firm DALBAR.

AIM was the clear leader in the June rankings with a score of 78, followed by Fidelity Investments at 72, and C.I. Fund Management, with 66. AIM saw a dramatic increase from its 2001 score, when it only rated a 62. Fidelity is up from 58, and C.I. rated a 61 last year.

DALBAR says that the quality gap among industry sites is much wider than it was last year. “This is mainly because this year’s two top Web leaders, AIM and Fidelity, continued to develop and improve their sites, while firms like Talvest and Dynamic, who ranked in the bottom half in both years, did little to improve their sites,” it says.

“Firm rankings have stayed relatively the same, but firms like AIM and Fidelity are surging ahead of others,” says Manny Da Silva, director for DALBAR’s Canadian office.

DALBAR says that the leading sites’ most noticeable improvements were in business support areas such as seminar planning, multimedia updates such as audio and video, and sales presentations.

Some of the lower ranking sites allude to the availability of sales support tools, but then refer the advisor to the wholesaler to get them.

DALBAR notes that account access is still not an industry norm. The top six firms provide advisors with client account access, while only one of the bottom six do so.

DALBAR applauds all industry firms for their navigation speeds, currency of information and efficiency in ordering marketing materials.

The remaining Web sites, ranked in in order after C.I. are: AGF; Mackenzie; AIC; TD; Franklin Templeton; Talvest; Royal; Dynamic and Clarington.