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Customer acquisition and retention in European wealth management 2008

http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/Summary-Market-Report/customer-acquisition-and-retention-in-european-wealth-management-2008-33690.asp


Report Summary

Introduction

Facing the prospect of an economic downturn in 2008, wealth managers in Europe are challenged to reassure existing clients about their ability to continue meeting their investment needs, even as intense competition for new customers and share of wallet is sustained. This report captures wealth managers’ views on the most effective strategies for attracting and keeping clients.

Scope

Reports on the views of 140 wealth managers in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands Spain, Sweden and Switzerlan; Identifies the most effective customer acquisition and retention strategies in the European wealth market; Highlights important differences in approach across countries and regions.

Highlights

‘Brand, image and reputation’ scores a close second to quality of service as an important criterion of selection among clients. Recent turmoil in the global credit markets and the current climate of economic stability have the potential to heighten the importance of these factors. Added to the challenges of clients’ use of multiple providers and growing tendency to change their wealth manager is the fact that just below half of participating European providers manages less than 10% of their clients’ portfolios. Wealth managers had the least confidence in techniques such as: encouraging cross-selling by relationship managers, preferential pricing and incentivizing relationship managers to sell additional products. Only Spanish wealth managers attest to the success of preferential pricing as a strategy for increasing share of wallet in their market.

Reasons to Purchase

Understand your competitors' approaches to customer acquisition and retention; Identify the important drivers of attraction and retention among your clients; Make cross-country comparisons and plan your strategies for different jurisdictions.

Table of Contents

Overview 1
Catalyst 1
Summary 1
Methodology 1
Executive Summary 2
Wealth managers who deliver exceptional service and investment performance will win the battle for Europe's mass affluent and high net worth markets 2
Customer acquisition is driving growth in the wealth market 2
Acquisition strategies should encourage clients and intermediaries to spread the word about service, image and client relationship management 2
Regular client contact and solid investment returns will help to demonstrate that a wealth manager understands the client's needs and has the capacity to meet them 2
Table of Contents 3
Table of figures 4
Table of tables 5
Market Context 6
Customer acquisition is driving growth in the wealth market 6
Wealth managers are acutely aware of the need to grow their client bases 6
Wealth managers are less concerned about client retention 7
Just below 70% of wealth managers reported client relationships of at least five years' duration 9
Despite long-term relationships, wealth managers should pay attention to an increasing tendency to defect 10
Planned strategic initiatives will impact acquisition and retention rates 11
Customer Acquisition 12
Acquisition strategies should encourage clients and intermediaries to spread the word about service, image and client relationship management 12
Clients select wealth managers based on the quality of their service 12
Word-of-mouth gets the word around on service levels 13
Intermediaries are less important to wealth managers in the Nordic and Benelux regions 14
In a climate of economic instability, the value of branding and reputation cannot be discounted 15
Wealth managers plan to focus their acquisition efforts on executives, business owners, inheritors and professionals 15
Customer Retention 17
Regular client contact and solid investment returns will help to demonstrate that a wealth manager understands the client's needs and has the capacity to meet them 17
Exclusivity remains elusive in the wealth market 17
Above all, clients need to feel that their needs are understood 18
Wealth managers should harness client demand for increased contact to strengthen their relationships 19
Clients demand investment returns that satisfy their financial needs and goals 20
Wealth managers may need to re-prioritise their strategies for client retention 21
Clients are reluctant to entrust a significant proportion of their assets to a single manager 22
Client retention increases scope for gaining share of wallet 23
Appendix 24
Data 24
Methodology 40
Further reading 40
Ask the analyst 40
Datamonitor consulting 40
Disclaimer 40
List of Tables
Table 1: What will most determine revenue growth in your market in the next two years? 24
Table 2: What are the most pressing concerns for your business at present? 25
Table 3: What are the most pressing concerns for your business at present? 2006 and 2007 results 26
Table 4: How long has your client base, on average, been with you? 27
Table 5: To what extent do you agree with the following? Clients are more likely to change their manager today than 2 years ago. 27
Table 6: What strategic initiatives are you planning or implementing in the next year? 28
Table 7: In your experience, what are the key influences that determine a client's choice of wealth management service? 29
Table 8: In your experience, what are the most effective customer acquisition techniques in your market? 30
Table 9: To what extent do you agree with the following? Financial advisors are / will be an important distribution channel for my wealth management business today / in three years. 31
Table 10: Which client types will offer the greatest potential in your country in the next five years? 32
Table 11: Which statement on client relationships do you most agree with? 33
Table 12: In your experience, what are the most likely reasons for clients to leave a wealth management service? 34
Table 13: To what extent do you agree with the following? Clients are demanding more face to face contact with their wealth manager now than two years ago. 35
Table 14: To what extent do you agree with the following? Clients are demanding more general contact (i.e. phone, email etc) with their wealth manager now than two years ago. 35
Table 15: What are your clients most interested in today? 36
Table 16: What is the best way to retain clients? 37
Table 17: Approximately what share of your clients' wallet do you think you have, on average? 38
Table 18: What is the most effective means of increasing share of wallet? 39
List of Figures
Figure 1: What will most determine revenue growth in your market in the next two years? 6
Figure 2: What are the most pressing concerns for your business at present? 7
Figure 3: What are the most pressing concerns for your business at present? 2006 and 2007 results 8
Figure 4: How long has your client base, on average, been with you? 9
Figure 5: To what extent do you agree with the following? Clients are more likely to change their manager today than 2 years ago. 10
Figure 6: What strategic initiatives are you planning or implementing in the next year? 11
Figure 7: In your experience, what are the key influences that determine a client's choice of wealth management service? 12
Figure 8: In your experience, what are the most effective customer acquisition techniques in your market? 13
Figure 9: To what extent do you agree with the following? Financial advisors are / will be an important distribution channel for my wealth management business today / in three years. 14
Figure 10: Which client types will offer the greatest potential in your country in the next five years? 16
Figure 11: Which statement on client relationships do you most agree with? 17
Figure 12: In your experience, what are the most likely reasons for clients to leave a wealth management service? 18
Figure 13: To what extent do you agree with the following statements on client contact? 19
Figure 14: What are your clients most interested in today? 20
Figure 15: What is the best way to retain clients? 21
Figure 16: Approximately what share of your clients' wallet do you think you have, on average? 22
Figure 17: What is the most effective means of increasing share of wallet? 23