investment service

							Investment Services
Research and Solutions
The Path to Improved Customer Satisfaction
and Investment Services Performance
   The Investment Services Industry
       The investment services industry is a fiercely competitive and highly commoditized industry. Issues ranging
       from industry consolidation, changing fee structures, technology advances and savvy, independent investors
       all combine to raise the bar for brokers. New business models, new technologies, and more sophisticated
       Internet strategies must quickly be adopted to meet the needs of this demanding environment. Yet the
       simple tenants of retaining and growing customer loyalty and the profits that are central to the relationship
       continue to endure. The only way investment firms can hope to thrive amid this wave of change is by
       understanding and addressing their investors’ needs on a continual basis. The most successful investment
       companies will have one thing in common—a direct line to the voice of the customer.

       J.D. Power provides actionable research and solutions based on the opinions of thousands of customers,
       and help companies understand what customers are thinking and what they really want, need, and look for
       from their investment services provider.




 The only way investment firms can hope to thrive
 amid this wave of change is by understanding and
 addressing their investors' needs on a continual basis.



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Independent Benchmarking Studies

    J.D. Power independent benchmarking investment studies are based on an industry assessment via
    surveys sent to thousands of customers who use investment services. J.D. Power independently funds
    and conducts industry-wide assessments of investment services firms annually and publicly announces
    highlights and findings through its Consumer Center Web site and the media. The detailed studies are
    offered to companies to help them:

    ■   Establish benchmarks for quality and customer satisfaction
    ■   Understand their strengths and weaknesses and those of their competitors
    ■   Identify specific tactics to improve quality and customer satisfaction.

 Full Service Investor Study
    The study sets a quality benchmark for the industry by examining investor satisfaction among the top
    full-service investment firms in the U.S. that collectively represent half of the investment dollars in the
    industry. The study provides the investment community a better understanding of the needs, expectations,
    and desires of today’s investors.

     Factors Examined: Investment Performance, Commissions and Fees, Investment Advisor
     Relationships, Convenience, Account Offerings, Account Statements, Call Center and Web site
     Interaction
     Target Respondents: 4,500                             Study Release: July 2008
     Fielding Period: April 2008 and May 2008              Award: Highest-ranked investment company


 Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study
    The study helps investment firms understand how effectively they are servicing their affiliated advisors.
    It offers an examination of the critical elements that drive overall advisor satisfaction and provides
    insight into the factors that affect advisor satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.

     Factors Examined: Work Environment, Job duties, People–Co-workers–Operations (Back Office)
     –Immediate Supervisor, Support–Training and Resources–Sales–Compliance–Technology, Products
     and Offerings, Compensation, Firm Performance
     Target Respondents: 4,000                         Study Release: August 2008
     Fielding Period: May 1 and June 9, 2008           Award: Highest-ranked investment company




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Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction Study

   This study explores the relationship between an investor and their self-directed investment firm in terms
   of satisfaction, loyalty and commitment.

    Factors Examined: Financial Advisor/Broker, Account Offerings, Investment Performance,
    Commissions and Fees, Account Statements, Convenience
    Target Respondents: 5,500                      Study Release: October 2008
    Fielding Period: July 2008                     Award: Highest-ranked investment company


J.D. Power Compass™

  Studies are delivered through J.D. Power Compass.TM This online portal allows easy navigation through
  data and reports providing a number features and benefits including:

    ■   Access 24/7 anywhere you have Internet access
    ■   Detailed data and robust tools giving users the control
        to conduct provider-to-provider and provider-to-
        industry comparisons down to the finest details of
        performance
    ■   Gap point analysis that graphically displays the positive
        or negative gap on key driver performance between any
        two providers of choice profiled in the study
    ■   Ability to capture your analyses for download into
        common applications such as Excel and PowerPoint
    ■   A number of reports presenting key findings, industry
        trending, and connections; reports are in PDF format
        downloadable and printable
    ■   Access to a complete, downloadable dataset that includes
        all information collected in the study usable in popular
        analysis applications including SPSS and mTab

   Subscribers also receive an Executive Presentation to your team summarizing your firm’s results against
   your key competition and advice on areas for improvement.




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Research and Performance Solutions

 Web Intelligence Research
  Consumer behavior has changed dramatically in today’s Internet-
  powered world, and consumer-generated Web commentary is
  becoming a prominent part of the social fabric. J.D. Power and
  Associates has expanded its suite of services to include a unique
  ability to track consumer opinion online. Our Web Intelligence
  services, focusing on social media and consumer-generated media
  research, complement the voice of the customer-based studies
  conducted on quality and customer satisfaction, which are used
  by leading manufacturers and service providers in a variety of key
  global industries.

  Multiple times per day, J.D Power mines hundreds of thousands of public conversations taking place in
  over 100 million blogs on message boards and other online public forums. We can even collect data from
  email suggestion boxes. This data is captured, cleansed, and placed in a repository for analysis. Using
  proprietary natural language processing and machine learning techniques, J.D. Power is able to derive
  meaning out of the hundreds of thousands of conversations taking place on the Internet everyday.

  This innovative offering allows companies to tap into the unbiased conversations in the blogosphere and
  find out what consumers, segmented by age and generation, are saying about their service, products and
  brand. Services here include:

   ■   Market examination—enables clients to understand how consumers relate to and consume a
       product or service category
   ■   Brand and product analysis—provides understanding as to how consumers relate to and use a
       specific brand, product, service or campaign
   ■   Issue exploration—examines how consumers are impacted by a particular event or issue
   ■   Tribe breakdown—offers insight about a target consumer segment
   ■   Customer comment processing— processes real customer comments (verbatims) and turns them
       into useful and insightful information in an easy-to-use form




                                         Multiple times per day, J.D. Power mines hundreds of
                                         thousands of public conversations taking place in over
                                         100 million blogs on message boards and online forums.



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  Custom Research
      J.D. Power conducts customized research and customer satisfaction measurement and tracking on
      a proprietary basis. These studies dive deep into each stage of the customer lifecycle, thus enabling
      management to understand the customer experience and prioritize improvement opportunities to
      enhance that experience. Examples of custom research include:

      Supplemental Independent Benchmarking Study Research—Using your customer sample, we conduct our
      independent benchmarking research methodology and produce data and report deliverables that allows
      you to benchmark your firm's performance against the firms in our benchmarking study. Firms that are
      profiled in our benchmarking study may also oversample using their customer sample to get more data
      which may be useful for more granular analysis.

      Proprietary Tracking Research—J.D. Power's proprietary programs provide investment firms with
      continuous performance monitoring to provide field- and retailer-level analysis. Firms can utilize
      weekly, monthly or quarterly information on demand, via a customized extranet or Web portal to
      identify problems and weaknesses, implement process improvements and measure the rate of customer
      satisfaction improvement.


  Performance Solutions
      J.D. Power and Associates works with your internal team to create practical business advantages using
      the insights gained from its customer satisfaction research. The company’s full-service performance
      improvement solutions offer a broad range of customized programs that will close the loop on advancing
      company success. While these solutions are formulated to address the unique needs of each client, they
      are built around proven models based on rich experience in customer service and quality improvement.
      Typical solutions include:

       ■   Voice of the Customer Proficiency
       ■   Call Center Assessment and Improvement
       ■   Call Center Certification
       ■   Voice of the Customer Training




J.D. Power and Associates works with your internal
team to create practical business advantages using the
insights gained from its customer satisfaction research.



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The J.D. Power and Associates Award
Companies that rank highest in each study for which awards are available will receive
the J.D. Power and Associates award trophy to recognize their accomplishments.
Those companies may also choose to have a formal award presentation at their location.

Many J.D. Power and Associates studies also receive extensive media coverage as a result of the study press release.
Clients that purchase the underlying research may also choose to issue a press release, with approval and review
by J.D. Power and Associates, to inform the media about the their performance. Companies that rank highest may
also choose to license their award for use in marketing, advertising, and promotions. Companies that do not rank
highest may also have opportunties to promote their performance in limited venues.

About J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power and Associates is an international marketing information services and consulting company recognized
by many industries as the leader in listening to the voice of the customer. Since 1968, the company has been
listening to consumers, analyzing their perceptions and refining study methodologies to offer the most advanced
customer satisfaction and tracking research available today.

A recent nationally representative study found more than 81% of consumers within the United States are aware
of the J.D. Power and Associates name. Of those, nearly 87% recognize the brand as a credible source for quality
information. Result: higher response rates and higher quality data than other research consultants

Since 1993, J.D. Power and Associates has been working in Financial Services. The Financial Services and
Insurance Division of the company offers 23 syndicated benchmarking studies covering:

 ■   Banking
 ■   Investment Services
 ■   Mortgage
 ■   Insurance
 ■   Automotive Finance


To learn more about Investment Services Research and Solutions and other finance products that will benefit your firm, please contact:
Northeast: John Brady, Director, Client Services at (973) 223-1164
Southeast: Guillermo Garcia, Director, Client Services at (321) 663-9150
Midwest/West: David Wano, Senior Director, Client Services at (847) 915-0187
Lisa Coleno, Director, Client Services at (248) 312-4148
Tim Ryan, Senior Director, Client Services at (248) 312-4271



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