Renewed Focus on Service, Solutions and Advice Increasing Industry Quality Standards

Canadian investment managers are working to meet institutional investors’ growing demands for advice and assistance by expanding and upgrading client service capabilities.

The renewed focus on service is driven by investors’ demand for outcome oriented solutions as well as a willingness to accept advice that helps them meet their investment objectives. This demand represents a significant opportunity for investment managers.

“Managers that satisfy clients and receive high scores in quality ratings have higher rates of asset retention in times of underperformance and better success rates in cross-selling,” says Greenwich Associates consultant Davis Walmsley.

2014 Greenwich Quality Leaders
During its annual Canadian Institutional Investors Study, Greenwich Associates asks participants to rate the asset managers they employ on a series of key service-related factors, and then uses the results to compile Greenwich Quality Index (GQI) scores for each manager. Firms with Service GQI scores that top those of competitors by a statistically significant margin are named Greenwich Quality Leaders.

The asset managers that distinguished themselves as the 2014 Greenwich Quality Leaders in Canadian Institutional Investment Management Service are (in alphabetical order) Burgundy Asset Management, Conner, Clark & Lunn Investment Management and Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management.

“With investor expectations increasing, it is more challenging for firms to distinguish themselves from competitors with truly outstanding service,” says Walmsley. “This year’s winners exhibit a commitment to providing a superior level of client service.”