Boston, March 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DALBAR’s recently released 20th Annual Trends and Best Practices in Investor Statements Report revealed that Merrill Lynch achieved the #1 position for its brokerage and retirement plan statements. BlackRock earned the top spot in the mutual fund category and AIG topped the charts with the #1 variable annuity statement.
Top 5 Investor Statements by Type
| Rank | Brokerage | Mutual Funds | Retirement Plan | Annuity |
| #1 | Merrill Lynch | BlackRock | Merrill Lynch | AIG |
| #2 | Pershing | Voya | Prudential Financial | Thrivent Financial |
| #3 | Morgan Stanley | American Funds | MassMutual | The Hartford |
| #4 | Edward Jones | Invesco | Principal Financial | Protective |
| #5 | Baird | Federated Funds | Securian | Pacific Life |
Transparency of account fees and expenses and improving the display of this critical information is a particular point of focus for many financial services firms. Among those firms reconfiguring their presentation of fee details, Merrill Lynch created additional sections and clear labels to allow investors to more easily understand the fees associated with their accounts.
Guiding investors to electronic delivery of their statements continues to be a key focal point. Baird placed particular emphasis on boosting e-Delivery with a multi-faceted approach, including listing the investor’s e-Delivery elections for each connected account. If e-Delivery is not selected an e-Delivery reminder message is displayed.
Another crucial component to a great statement is easy access to one’s account value and Charles Schwab now displays an at-a-glance value across the top of the page.
For more information about DALBAR’s Trends and Best Practices in Investor Statements Report, please visit the web site at www.Dalbar.com or contact Brooke Halloran at 617-624-7273 or bhalloran@Dalbar.com.
DALBAR, Inc. is the financial community’s leading independent expert for evaluating, auditing and rating business practices, customer performance, product quality and service. Launched in 1976, DALBAR has earned the recognition for consistent and unbiased evaluations of investment companies, registered investment advisers, insurance companies, broker/dealers, retirement plan providers and financial professionals. DALBAR awards are recognized as marks of a superior standard of care in the financial community.