Contrarian: Why advisers should shape the fund launch agenda

David Stevenson says it is time there are more products designed by advisers, for advisers.

One of the great ironies of modern markets is that although producers and suppliers are supposed to shape products based on deep insights garnered from consumer experiences, when it comes to complex products (funds for instance), it is the designers who make the running. I can think of countless examples of supposed innovations where clearly no-one ever listened to a single end user until the very bitter end. My guess is most marketing types secretly agree with the old Apple nostrum of never trusting any customer survey. Go with your gut and if that says ignoring what the customer wants,...