TORONTO, Oct. 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DALBAR released its Trends and Best Practices in Investor Statements report covering 3 of the most popular investment industry segments in Canada: Mutual Funds, Managed Portfolio, and Brokerage (direct as well as full-service brokerage). DALBAR is pleased to announce that Dynamic Funds secured the #1 Rank once again in both the Mutual Funds and Managed Portfolio segments and Questrade earned the top spot for the first time, ranking #1 in the Brokerage segment.
These industry leading statements are already well on their way to the next stage of statement evolution in which statement recipients and others affected by statements become the central focus creating communication that is helpful and beneficial to all stakeholders.
Clients are vehemently clear on the top features they want and expect on their statements. In the fall of 2013 DALBAR conducted a focused study with 300 investors about their preferences for statement content and design. The study asked investors to prioritize 60 possible statement features. Among the elements deemed most valuable by clients, the top 3 are provided along with the percentage of respondents who deemed the feature at least Important or Critically Important.
A. Fees and Expenses disclosed - 92.6%
B. Transactions during the period – 92.1%
C. Rate of Return figures – 89.4%
"The top statement features identified in our Investor Statement Preferences' study are well in line with CRM2 rule changes which now have providers rethinking their investor statements altogether," said Anita Lo, Vice President at DALBAR Canada. She added, "The statement document should not be taken for granted, for it's one of the few direct mediums of communication between the client and provider where the opportunity is readily available for building a relationship, promoting client satisfaction, success, trust in the company and loyalty."
DALBAR takes a systematic approach to evaluating statements using a method that has been developed and refined over the past two decades. Statements earned credit for including features that strongly impact an investor's ability to act prudently and make financial decisions. Features include the ability to understand the significance of the information, answer pertinent questions and utilize design elements that enhanced their overall effectiveness.
The DALBAR Trends & Best Practices Report is one of a suite of reports that are available as part of DALBAR's Statement Strategies. For more information on Statement Strategies or the Trends & Best Practices Report, please contact DALBAR's Research & Communications Division at infocanada@DALBAR.ca.
About DALBAR Inc.: As the world's premier financial services strategy and operations research firm, DALBAR, Inc. helps leading enterprises develop, build, and operate strong businesses that deliver sustained shareholder value growth. DALBAR's proprietary business design techniques, combined with its specialized industry knowledge and behavioural research expertise, enable companies to anticipate changes in customer priorities and the competitive environment, and then design their businesses and improve operations to seize opportunities created by those changes. The firm serves clients in the Americas and Europe.