by Dan Sondhelm
We spoke to Sandy Motusesky (left), Director of Product Management and Development for Pershing. Sandy spoke with us about the opportunities fund companies have with Pershing as well as trends Pershing sees within the investment community. What do the most salable funds look like?
The more successful mutual fund firms have a distinct story to tell. Additionally, many offer a variety of share classes, to allow Pershing’s customers the flexibility to select the product that best fit their business model and client needs. We also see a significant fund flow going to mutual funds on Pershing’s no transaction fee program, FundVest®, which includes 3,800 funds. FundVest allows our customers to transact in these funds without incurring transaction fees, lowering the overall cost to their end client.
How does Pershing help fund companies build relationships with its customers?
Pershing’s goal is to add value by educating and helping our customers grow and better manage their businesses. We look to the fund companies to help us in this endeavor by sharing their areas of expertise and thought leadership programs. We encourage the fund companies we work with to interact with our customers and we provide a variety of opportunities for them to do so.
To begin working together, your firm will need to sign an agreement with Pershing. When that’s in place, Pershing will announce your fund to its customers and make it available on Pershing’s industry leading technology platform NetX360™. Be sure to take the time to get to know your Pershing Fund Relationship Manager to discuss ideas that can help position your fund and heighten visibility both, on our platform and within the investment community.
Pershing’s Product Management and Development team can work with you to help you identify the opportunities best suited for your funds—opportunities that will allow you to tell your story.
What are some of those opportunities for fund companies to interact with Pershing investment professionals?
All-tolled, our products and services touch 100,000 registered investment representatives and hundreds of registered investment advisors.
We encourage fund companies to participate in a number of sponsorship opportunities available through Pershing. For example, Pershing’s annual INSITE Conference (http://www.pershing.com/events/insite/index.html) and Customer Conference (http://www.pershing.com/events/customer_conference/index.html) provide ample networking opportunities to meet with Pershing customers.
Pershing also offers a number of regional and local conferences and events. As a sponsor or speaker, these events help get your associates in front of firms and individual advisors, both large and small. To get a sense of the types of sponsorship opportunities available to you, please view our calendar of national, regional and virtual events at http://www.pershing.com/events/index.html.
How can a fund manager be a featured speaker at a Pershing event?
All of our speakers are selected for their reputation and expertise in their fields. The agenda is set to address industry issues with breakout sessions developed around theme. A number of opportunities to address Pershing customers are available via Pershing’s existing educational programs. In addition to the events we mentioned, we have a well-established and well-attended series of conference calls, webinars and seminars, where we welcome the opportunity to hear from fund firms on their areas of expertise. This year and going forward, we will look to publish educational content on our NetX360 platform that showcases our fund partners’ areas of expertise and thought leadership.
Contact Pershing at investmentsolutions@pershing.com to share your interest and areas of expertise as a resource.
Are there other marketing programs sponsored by Pershing?
Yes, the Pershing Press is a quarterly newsletter that’s available on Pershing’s website: http://www.pershing.com/news/pershing_press/index.html. The newsletter discusses issues and trends in the investment community.
Our introducing broker dealers and RIAs tend to find contact with fund managers very beneficial. Where we can, we’ll help facilitate getting fund managers in front of audiences to talk about their perspectives. We are focused on helping our clients grow assets and expand their distribution channels so we’re happy to assist as much as we can.
We’ve seen a growing demand for offshore mutual funds and as a result are continuing to increase our global processing capabilities to deliver those products. In fact, we recently published two guidebooks to help broker dealers and advisors, respectively, get acquainted with international investing.
In addition, since the market disruption at the end of 2008, advisors are showing more interest in asset allocation strategies that include more than the traditional stock, bond, and cash allocation. Alternative asset classes are now considered very important to a diversified portfolio allocation. We’ve seen 40-Act funds being created that offer managed futures, long-short strategies, TIPs and real estate and these alternative asset classes seem to be gaining in popularity.
There is also increased attention being paid to fixed-income and non-traditional brokerage products that can be used for retirement income and many financial professionals are looking for solutions that meet this need, including absolute return products.
Thank you. Any final comments?
Pershing is proud to offer unbiased access to the funds that investment professionals and investors seek. We consider ourselves partners with our customers and mutual fund providers and work hard to create the greatest opportunity for everyone’s growth.
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