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kasina Research Finds Asset Managers Continuing to Expand and Evolve Their SalesforcesNEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- kasina, a DST company providing data-driven insights and distribution solutions to financial companies around the world, today released the results of its 2015 Productivity Insights research. According to the kasina study, the average asset management company's salesforce expanded by 8% from 2014. On average, firms added nine new salespeople to their teams, with hires primarily in internal and hybrid wholesaling and externals focused on the DCIO and RIA segments. These additions come at a time of significant change for asset management sales efforts, as in-person meetings with financial advisors are more difficult than ever to get and compensation models are evolving to better align salespeople with overall firm objectives. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150929/271685-INFO "The model for advisor-wholesaler interactions is changing," said Lee Kowarski, Vice President at kasina. "Asset managers are reporting that external wholesalers are holding fewer meetings per week in 2015 than 2014, requiring them to take steps to surround advisors with other types of support that enable them to have more impactful meetings." A recent kasina report -- A Modernized Sales Team -- demonstrated that firms are rethinking practices that have been widely accepted for more than twenty years. New considerations iclude a greater recognition of the value of internal sales teams, as well as a more concerted focus on both the DCIO and RIA markets. Average compensation for industry salespeople is slated to rise in 2015, primarily due to a continued predominance of gross sales-based commissions in compensation plans and a projected increase in gross sales per external wholesaler of 9% over 2014. "The increase in gross sales has contributed to a roughly 10% increase in compensation for the average external," said Mr. Kowarski. "With many firms' net flows being challenged this year, we are seeing significant changes to compensation models across the industry. While gross sales will continue to be a substantial portion of compensation, we found 61% of firms now factor net sales into their compensation plans, an increase from 30% in 2013." Kowarski added: "To bring comp into greater alignment with performance, firms recognize they need to understand the average holding period of the advisors they do business with, and adjust sales force compensation to reward higher asset retention rates." For the study, kasina surveyed 30 asset management firms, including most of the ten largest firms, on their current and future plans for compensation, staffing, team structure, expenses and activities for their sales force and national account teams. The firms surveyed had average intermediary assets under management of $135.3 billion. Other key findings from kasina's Productivity Insights report include: Sales Force:
For more information on kasina's 2015 Productivity Insights research, contact Myra Bartalos, Head of Marketing, at [email protected]. About kasina About DST Media Contact: Laura M. Parsons
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kasina-research-finds-asset-managers-continuing-to-expand-and-evolve-their-salesforces-300150485.html SOURCE DST Systems, Inc. |