U.S. Retail Investor Products and Platforms 2021
Redefining Mass Customization
Better Align Portfolios with Investor Preferences
- Learn how financial advice provider firms can optimize their strategies in designing and addressing retail investment platforms
- Understand retail investors’ preferences with regard to direct investing platforms and the products they wish to use on them
- Analyze annually updated investor market sizing, with age and wealth tier segmentations
- Explore proprietary sizing of direct-to-investor platforms, including an updated leaderboard and underlying product sizing
- Gain insight into the value of brands in investors’ decision making
Buy Now
Drew O'Hearn, CFP
Senior Director, Account Management
- Boston HQ +1 617.437.0084
- Singapore +65 6994 1022
- London +44 20 7645 9040
Summary
This report serves as Cerulli’s guidebook to optimizing firms’ strategies to designing and addressing retail investment platforms. It helps firms better understand retail investors’ preferences with regard to direct investing platforms and the products they wish to use on them.
Included with Purchase
Methodology
Each report is lead authored by a senior Cerulli analyst with significant industry experience. The report incorporates qualitative and quantitative inputs, based on Cerulli’s proprietary research process. For more on our research process, click here.
Executive Summary
Get the most important report findings distilled in an easy-to-understand and highly visual format before you begin your journey through the report or use it as a tool for senior leadership.
Interactive Report Dashboard
Access consolidated data from multiple report exhibits in a single comparative view. Flexibly build your view of data with customizable filters and share the results in a format that meets your requirements.
Analyst Support
Got a question? Our analysts are available to help you interpret and analyze key findings as well as provide their perspective on industry trends.
Data Behind the Report
Data is the foundation of our reports. Each study contains nearly 100 exhibits, available to buyers in Excel format. Extract and explore Cerulli’s data and analysis your way.
Digital Access
Access your reports digitally anytime, anywhere, on any device through our client portal.
A Note from the Author
Investors Want More Than an Algorithm from Advisors
Scott Smith
Director
Bio →
Scott Smith
Director
With more than 20 years of financial services industry experience, Scott leads Cerulli’s research efforts focused on investor behavior and advisory relationships. In his time at Cerulli, he has authored more than two dozen in-depth reports on topics ranging from wholesale distribution to digital advice platforms. His research helps Cerulli’s clients understand how to optimize their platforms given the evolving demand for financial advice.
Scott started his career wearing a headset at Putnam Investments’ service center in 1996, before moving to more strategic roles at MFS Investment Management starting in 2000, and then to Cerulli in 2007. In addition, he currently serves as member of the CFP Board’s Digital Advice Working Group, and as a judge for the wealthmanagement.com Industry Awards.
Full biography here.
For investors seeking a true partner in their financial journeys, it is important that the advice they receive is tailored to them and not just a general recommendation offered to everyone with similar circumstances. This is particularly true during the advisor selection process. Affluent investors consistently cite transparency (58%) and finding a provider willing to commit the time (54%) necessary to understand their unique circumstances as the most important criteria in their consideration of new providers. Furthermore, investors rate receiving solutions customized to their needs and goals (44%) as just as important as portfolio performance (43%).
Investors want to know that the products and services they are receiving are optimized to help them achieve their personal goals, and while technology is a critical component of automation and personalization, very few investors (4%) express interest in purely digital platforms without human support. In the near term, Cerulli believes the most impactful digital tools will augment human advisors’ abilities to better connect with and guide personalized financial goals.
Learn more in The Cerulli Report—U.S. Retail Investor Products and Platforms 2021: Redefining Mass Customization.
Contact Us
Want More Information?
Learn more about this report and related Cerulli research.
Contact Us
You May Also be Interested in:
- Annual report
- The Cerulli Edge
Strategic Consulting & Custom Research
Cerulli Consulting
Understand where to allocate resources to achieve your objectives. We can help you determine which initiatives are likely to be successful and those that may not achieve the desired effect. In an increasingly competitive market, our objectivity and experience can help you to advance your firm’s unique strengths.