European Mutual Fund Success Depends On E- Business Strategy

by Philip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

21 June 2001

According to a white paper released recently by US based e-business strategy consultants, kasina, asset managers must concentrate on their e-business strategy in order to be successful in an increasingly competitive European mutual fund market. Steven Miyao, the company's chief executive explained: 'European mutual fund companies, in general, are barely scratching the surface of what is possible in financial professional online servicing. Over the next 18 months fund companies truly committed to the internet will be significantly enhancing their current offerings.'

The white paper examined important European online trends, industry best practices, emerging technologies, and other issues that asset managers will need to consider in order to provide financial advisers and their clients with a competitive online service offering. In order to assess the needs of European advisers, kasina spoke to a representative sample, and came to the conclusion that financial intermediaries have begun to embrace the internet in their work, whereas asset management companies have traditionally been slow to catch on to the web as an effective channel.

Mr Miyao believes that there are several key e-business strategy components necessary for those wishing to target European financial advisors and their clients, the first of which (it goes without saying) is to have a website, which should be good looking and intuitive to use. He also suggests that fund companies should make use of distributors' corporate sites, as it is estimated that approximately 80% of European mutual funds are distributed through banks and insurance companies.

Alexandre Dussaucy, the director of business development for Western Europe believes that you can't go wrong with the personal touch, and suggests that fund managers customise e-mails in order to build better relationships with advisers and their clients. He also suggests that mobile access for posting data to clients is a necessity in Europe. 'Nearly 80% of advisers in Europe have access to the internet and e-mail,' he explained, 'while IFAs estimate that the same is true for only 25% of their clients.' According to M. Dussaucy, UK clients are the most connected, closely followed by Germany, Switzerland and France.

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