Firms still spinning out Web strategies

The names of the technologies vary — RPM, Repsource, Winfund, PowerRep — but across the country, mutual fund distributors have similar Web offerings. Advisors can access the basic tools required to run their businesses, such as marketing materials, product information, rates and updates from head office.

“We do a lot of our training nationally by Webcasting; then we archive the material, to be used by advisors if they want to go back and take a look,” says Stephen Cole, vice president and national sales manager of Laurentian Financial Services in Toronto. Clients are also being wooed via the Web with online account statements, financial calculators, and tracking and charting tools.

But beyond online account statements, firms are looking for unique ways to use technology to benefit both advisors and clients. “One thing we are looking at is how to integrate hand-held devices such as Blackberry and Palm Pilot into the Repsource offering,” Gray says. “It’s an extension of the concept of how to communicate easily and efficiently.”

Another client service making its way into Canadian planning firms is aggregated accounts. The trend has been growing in the U.S. for the past few years and is being embraced by the Canadian banking industry.

Investment Planning Counsel of Canada launched the first wealth management application of account aggregation in April 2002. “Ticoon allows clients access to an advisor Web site to aggregate all of their information onto one portal,” says Chris Reynolds, president of Mississauga, Ont.-based IPC. “In other words, they not only can look at their mutual fund holdings, securities, stocks and bonds, but also at their bank accounts, lines of credit, credit cards. These are all available online.”

Firms are continually spinning out new and better ways to use the Web, but are they catching clients’ attention? “I think the industry makes a bigger thing of it than what the client really wants. We sometimes get too far ahead of the client,” says one Assante Financial Management Ltd. advisor in the Prairies. “In terms of online account statements, I’d say less than 5% of my clients access them.”

Although Gray agrees Web usage is never as high as anticipated, there is optimism for the future. He estimates 30% of Manulife’s clients are taking advantage of the Web tools, but forecasts a 100% usage rate by mid-2005.

Our survey results indicate advisors are moderately satisfied with their client Web offerings, with an average ranking of 6.1.
Top honour goes to IPC with 8.0.
Not all advisors are providing available Web tools to their clients. “I could have Internet access for my clients, but there is a cost involved,” says one TWC Financial Corp.
advisor in Ontario. “There hasn’t been enough client interest to warrant the cost.”

However, head-office representatives at many firms — including WorldSource Wealth Management Inc., Dundee Private Investors Inc., Manulife and Laurentian — say there is no cost to advisors for client access. Timothy Calibaba, president and CEO of TWC Financial in Radville, Sask., says TWC’s technology platform (RPM Open) is updated every six months and advisors don’t pay beyond the initial $1,000 set-up cost.

Advisors are aided by head office in terms of cost-cutting and business-building.
Calibaba says the new RPM Open technology currently being implemented will save advisors in the long run. “They won’t have any hosting costs for their own data; it will all be hosted here. It will be live and increase their efficiency.”

Many firms also offer advisors their own Web sites, which provide them with cost-effective marketing tools and allow them to connect with clients on a more personal level. “As an external strategy, we have a templated advisor Web site using the Ticoon technology that allows advisors to customize their very own Web sites and market this to the public,” says IPC’s Reynolds. “It has their profiles, names, pictures [they can change the message if they want], and we automatically update everything for them.”