Company Press Release

NEW YORK, March 28 2012 – A new study by kasina shows that many asset managers today are failing to capitalize on their most profitable opportunities with financial advisors. Relying on outdated segmentation models, firms are losing business because they are unable to target the right advisors with the right information in the right ways. The report, entitled The Five Advisor Segments: A New Approach to the Intermediary Market, spotlights these inefficiencies and provides an innovative segmentation model based on advisors’ actual behaviors and preferences. It also includes analysis using the new model that identifies five new advisor segments: Order Takers, Technophiles, Support Hogs, Self Sufficients and Rainmakers.

Traditional segmentation categorizes intermediaries based on channel, size, industry ranking or current value. Those models ignore advisor behaviors and preferences, which often causes sales and marketing programs to be poorly targeted and ineffective. kasina’s new model breaks out groups of advisors based on their demographics, behaviors, communication preferences, investment decision processes and support needs. Factoring in this advisor intelligence enables smarter and more accurate targeting of advisor sales and marketing programs.

“The reality is that within each of the traditional distribution categories, there are advisors with increasingly diverse traits and preferences,” said Steven Miyao, CEO and founder of kasina. “Taking a ‘one size fits all’ approach is no longer a winning strategy. Firms need to gain a new perspective on these customer groups, and be more responsive to their specific requirements.”

The new study used data on 1,533 intermediaries that completed the kasina FA Vision Benchmarking Survey in late-2011. Subsequently, kasina teamed with statisticians to perform a combination of factor analysis, k-clustering and other advanced statistical techniques on the survey data. The result is an insightful new perspective on the five groups.

The study gives firms a way to gain a more complete and accurate understanding of their existing and prospective advisors. It provides an actionable framework for developing segment-specific strategies for significantly enhancing the effectiveness of advisor sales and marketing programs. The report also contains best practices, benchmarks and recommendations on how firms can best map their distribution resources to advisor segments, communicate via the most effective mediums, and tailor service and support levels based on value potential.

About kasina

kasina's commitment to innovating distribution in the financial services industry has made it one of the most influential strategy consulting firms in its sector. kasina works with a wide variety of clients from five continents, including firms representing 90% of the total assets under management in the US. An overview of services offered by kasina is available at www.kasina.com