Only four defined contribution investment managers are well known and well-liked by plan sponsors, according to the results of a survey cited in Cogent Research’s new report, Retirement Planscape 2011.
Those four investment managers are:
- Vanguard
- Fidelity Investments
- American Funds
- T. Rowe Price
Vanguard pulled ahead of the group of 36 leading DC investment managers to score the highest in overall favorability. Fidelity was rated first in overall awareness.
These and other findings are addressed in Retirement Planscape 2011, a new study by Cogent Research based on a representative survey of 1,600 DC plan sponsors across all plan sizes and industries.
“It’s not enough for a DC investment manager to have high brand awareness,” says Christy White, Cogent Principal. “The essential ingredients are for a brand to be both well-known and well-liked.”
BlackRock, PIMCO, Wells Fargo, ING, and Oppenheimer, are respected by plan sponsors but fewer plan sponsors know about them, Cogent said. That represents an opportunity for growth.
“These firms have already succeeded in creating a favorable impression of their brand,” said Linda York, Research Director at Cogent Research. “What they need to do is move beyond being well-liked by a few to become more well-known among a broader audience of DC plan sponsors.”
“None of the major players find themselves in the position of being well-known and disliked… The vast majority are struggling just to be known to plan sponsors, let alone to have effectively differentiated themselves,” White said.
© 2011 RIJ Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.
