Top 10 intermediary web sites

For the 13th year in a row research firm kasina LLC has come out with a study and list of the Top 10 intermediary web sites for financial advisers. BlackRock again takes the top spot while Fidelity and Putnam's efforts move them to a higher spot on the list. Kasina reviewed the sites of 45 asset management companies looking for those that best met its criteria. These included five categories the sites were evaluated on: Branding online services, product and performance information, support content and usability. I found it interesting that none of the 10 players from last year were knocked totally off the list (perhaps no one off the list is spending money on their sites and materials). I was intrigued that Putnam, which did a revamp of their site this year, did move up in the rankings. Kasina applied a three-tier approach in screening the sites using a quantitative analysis focused on the availability of content and functionality (I will attempt to find out what exactly the “quantitative” part of that means and what “functionality” kasina is referring to). They then judged the quality of that content and functionality. And finally kasina employed “scenarios to test the user experience” (perhaps focus groups?). In a nutshell the research firm found that asset management firms with best-in-class adviser web sites were those that had built “superior Web capabilities,” that make the advisers job as easy as possible in terms of finding information that is relevant for their own clients, especially materials online that can best replicate an offline, high touch experience. The 68-page report provides reviews of what worked among those on the list and includes screenshots from the sites. For more information or to purchase the full study visit kasina online. Related stories: Putnam launches redesigned adviser website Kasina's 'What Advisors Do Online 2010' a bit different from last year but still interesting Advisers clock more hours online since downturn