Today's data challenge

In today's world, data is abundant. The challenge is not collecting and capturing data, but stitching it together and deriving insights from it – insights that, in turn, help inform decision making.  

 When surveying asset managers, the top 3 challenges they face when leveraging data include:  

• Limited actionable insights (54.5%) 
• Lack data expertise and/or resourcing (45.5%) 
• Silo’d or inconsistent data (45.5%) 
• Please note, multiple challenges could be selected

It’s not a surprise that many firms are struggling with the same issue. But it’s not hopeless. Asset managers can easily tap into subsets of behavioral data to drive distribution efficiency.  

How to tap into behavioral data

Let’s use sales teams as an example. We recently partnered with an emerging asset manager in a niche corner of the alternatives market to improve their sales performance. With a small team, their sales department was stretched thin chasing leads. They knew they had a good product, but getting momentum was proving challenging; they were burning valuable time and resources pursuing cold leads and dead ends.

By leveraging our third-party behavioral data, their sales team was able to better identify and prioritize interested advisors when prospecting. We provided them with access to third-party data from a large proprietary pool of financial advisors, and an outsourced analysis of that data. 

With this information, our partner: 

• Obtained a list of financial advisor leads who, through digital engagement and behavioral data, had indicated interest in related products – including competitor products, as well as their own. 
• Prioritized this list based on engagement – leveraging a proprietary engagement score that ranks and weights different types of actions. 
• Identified which advisors were looking into alternatives and eliminated advisors who had no interest in the alternative space. 

By focusing sales teams’ outreach efforts to prospects who have shown some interest, asset managers can shorten sales cycles and ensure distribution resources are operating efficiently. 

 “We were able to secure five qualified opportunities in our pipeline and got four additional meetings set. 

There was a clear connection to engagement. We knew they were looking at our funds and funds like ours, and that made it easy for us to get our message in front of them.”  

Value of data partnerships

Finding partnerships that enhance data utilization or provide data clarity can be highly beneficial. Whether you are a small team striving for efficiency or a larger institution seeking a competitive edge, using data to streamline your sales cycle can drive growth in AUM. VettaFi offers data and analytics services that can help asset managers elevate their products to the next level. 

Interested in learning how to partner with us? Click here.