Woolaston said: “Platinum received the highest net promoter score. Investors in Platinum gave them particularly good ratings in the areas of ‘performance’ and ‘response to the global financial crisis.’ Platinum also received high ratings in all areas of communication.” Johnston said that client satisfaction was clearly linked to effective communication. The largest gaps in managed funds client service were that fund managers did not provide direction on what to do next, did not keep investors informed, and did not provide sufficient information on how they were responding to the global financial crisis.
“Managed fund investors are clearly still hungry for information about the market turmoil and its implications for their investment,” said Johnston. “Even though the industry has been working overtime on communications since all of this began, six out of 10 managed fund investors said they still wanted even more information from their main funds manager.” The proportion of investors who had spoken to a financial planner about the market fell 18 per cent since November 2008, and the proportion of those who said a financial planner was the main influence on their decisions fell 34 per cent.
Last month, a research piece from Investment Trends/AMP Capital Investors reported an increase in the establishment of Self Managed Super Funds because investors were not happy with the performance of their existing super fund and the fees charged. One-third of SMSF trustees were interested in buying undervalued assets in May on an opportunistic basis over the next 12 months, up from 25 per cent in July last year. Two-thirds of SMSF trustees were glad they had set up their own funds. “Some of the higher-balance super fund members who are considering switching may look to set up an SMSF,” said Woolaston.
