According to CaseyQuirk by Deloitte, new investment products account for 62% of net new flows for the asset management industry.
In their recent study, “New Arrows for the Quiver: Product Development for a New Active and Beta World,” CaseyQuirk projects that “Investors worldwide will fund a $4 trillion transition to new active strategies” in coming years as they embrace outcome-oriented and cash-flow-oriented strategies to meet their objectives.
As advisors and investors search for new solutions, they will find their way to the websites of asset managers with robust and innovative products that meet investor needs. The best websites will help sponsors capture their share of investor flows.
Every successful asset manager website educates visitors on the “5 P's.” In this article, we will highlight topic #5 of the “5 P's”: Product.
With $4 trillion at stake, asset managers must get their product development and communications right. A new investment strategy without solid communications to support the sales effort risks being left behind.
Moreover, in our “digital first” era, solid communications must be web-based. Asset managers and their distribution teams must achieve not only digital transformation but web mastery.
The most effective product education occurs across multiple media. Investors have widely varied preferences on how they wish to receive information:
Some investors prefer a short video.Some investors may use all the media types as they progress through their product education, which frequently begins on an asset manager’s website.
The investor and product communications menu can be extensive:
In our experience, the most productive place to start in the communications development process is the advisor deck. Building the deck compels the asset manager to develop and hone their narrative and discover the best way to tell the investment story.
At GK3 Capital, we recently collaborated with a specialist fund sponsor to develop the decks for two innovative media funds.
The first fund offered access to private equity opportunities in the media & entertainment industry. Working with the manager, we developed a narrative on the powerful global forces driving growth in the industry, and how to access private investment opportunities within the industry.
Product content should follow the same guiding philosophy applicable to all of the 5 P's. The most effective content is about solving investor needs, not promoting the product or manager.
Some products and their communications can be highly focused. Others may be multi-faceted.
At GK3 we are creating an entire digital distribution platform from scratch for an innovative high-yield structured credit strategy by a top-performing manager, offering potential double-digit yields in a tax-sheltered insurance structure.
The product launch is a major educational endeavor, encompassing new materials on private placement life insurance, tax-favored insurance-dedicated funds, and the underlying credit strategy using collateralized loan obligations (CLOs).
The multi-channel launch utilizes email and online advertising to drive website traffic. Materials include:
Asset manager websites are more important than ever for building and maintaining relationships with investors and advisors. To compete and thrive, boutique and specialty asset managers must create an online experience that highlights their unique value.
Allocators and analysts seek to evaluate every fund and asset manager across five key dimensions:
The 5 P's:
Thus, every asset manager must include a rich selection of content on the websites covering the 5 P's.
If you haven’t already, be sure to read the other blogs in this 5-part series on the critical topics for every asset manager website:
To learn more about how to master web-based sales and marketing in asset management, watch our video series or download our eBook on Digital Distribution.