Barclays: Fund groups must 'completely rethink' retail strategies

Asset managers are likely to engage in a "fundamental rethink" of their retail strategies as more customers go direct in future, according to analysts at Barclays.

In a note on the landscape for financial services firms post-RDR, the bank said branding will become increasingly important as the direct-to-consumer market gathers momentum. "Recognition is typically low for the asset management industry with a low degree of customer interaction compared to other financial services," the note read. "This may have been fine when manufacturers distributed their products predominantly through an incentivised adviser network of a few thousand." "However, we believe asset managers are likely to fundamentally rethink their strategies for retail as more ...