Stronger Website equals stronger fund flows, according to study

by Dan Sondhelm

Does your Website read more like an online prospectus than a tool to keep advisors coming back?

If so, you are not alone. Many of the back office firms sell Website templates to quickly and easily check it off the to-do list when launching a fund. And that's too bad and a disservice because dozens of smaller mutual funds with good stories to tell would have a better chance to attract investors if their Website better reflected the quality investment opportunity they really offer.

According to a recent blog on RegisteredRep.com, advisors say the quality of asset manager Websites affects product sales. Financial advisors use the web now more than ever and the quality of an asset manager’s website matters. The better the manager’s site, the more assets it can gather.

So consider an upgrade. Get rid of your static Website and build one that keeps advisors coming back with timely information to sell your funds.

Specifically, we recommend your site includes, at minimum, the following content and features:
Timely communications:

• Featured updates on the home page so investors don’t have to search for new items, such as recent news coverage, updated performance, recent commentaries, and Webinar promotions.
• Commentary and archives (print, conference calls, webinars)
• Newsroom to post recent press coverage and news items
• Quarterly performance & portfolio characteristics page to provide detailed information about the portfolio
• Email marketing user-friendly sign up button to collect contact information for marketing programs to drive additional traffic of existing and prospective investors to their Websites.
• Ability to post videos to better tell your story
• Social media friendly to integrate with your social media strategy if allowed by compliance

Informational content:

• About us/advisor
• Our team
• Our asset class
• Strategy objective, philosophy, etc.
• Literature
• How to invest
• Contact us

Web visibility and monitoring:

• Basic search engine optimization (SEO) so your site can better be found online
• Programmed key words and metatags so your site can better be found online
• Google Analytics so you can learn who is visiting your site

If you are interested in upgrading your site to coounicate with your customers and prospects and get the recognition you deserve, contact me to discuss.