Industry leaders gathered for an in-depth roundtable discussion on portfolio construction Sept. 29 at Federated Hermes in New York. Catch up on the discussion with session highlights below.

Host:

Discussion Highlights:

FUSE Research Network Advisor Survey Highlights

Mike Evans | Partner & Director of Advisor and Benchmark Research | FUSE Research Network

• Approximately 20% of advisors solely use home office models without any outside customization/support – i.e., 80% of advisors need or benefit from portfolio construction services partnerships (PCS)
• 1/3 of advisors met with PCS teams and 1/3 of those meetings led to product sales
• The ratio of wholesaler meetings leading to product sales is significantly lower than 1/3
• Less than 10% of advisors want a consultation from a wholesaler directly – i.e., more than 90% of advisors want to interact with a PCS specialist
• Advisors are using multiple PC fund firms
• Risk identification and tax-loss harvesting reinvestment/rebalancing are the most compelling for PC engagement
• Advisors prefer quarterly or semi-annual PC consultations
• 30% of consultations lead to product sales
• Close rate is higher among female advisors (50%) compared to male advisors (30%)
• Risk exposure analysis is cited as a top reason for engaging in PCS
• Advisors are using multiple PC fund firms

Roundtable Discussion – Metrics

• The percentage of portfolio construction services (PCS) meetings leading to a product sale over a given time period vs. the percentage of typical non-PCS interactions
• Investigating the mix of PCS product sales vs. non-PCS product sales
• Investigating the results of long-term/routine/recurring PCS clients vs. one-time and/or non-PCS clients
• Correlating territory sales rank vs. territory PCS usage volume
• Tracking win size and tracking top wholesalers vs. bottom usage
• Most teams aligning by territory found the pros outweigh the cons
• Teams looking to enable sales force for digital tools/iPad
• Digital PC engagement tools for salespeople
• Continuous PC advisor working relationships
• Working with advisors before their investment committee meetings
• Sales correlation analysis of most active PC salespeople