New Report Reveals Best Practices in Brokerage Client Communication

Corporate Insight’s Annual Examination of Monthly Client Statements from 20 Brokerages Confirms Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo Have Best Overall Offerings

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Corporate Insight, the leader in competitive intelligence in the financial services industry, today released its annual comprehensive analysis of client statements offered by 20 of the top full-service, self-directed and hybrid brokerage firms. The all-inclusive report examines brokerage firms’ key client communication using a proprietary and transparent audit methodology. Using the perspective of a retail client, Corporate Insight compiled original reviews of every statement covered, and the resulting capabilities matrix provides brokerage firms with a benchmark of their performance in their respective space.

The following firms have the strongest overall statements in their respective categories based on Corporate Insight’s criteria:

• Full-Service Firms: Merrill Lynch, UBS, Wells Fargo
• Full-Service/Self-Directed Hybrid Firms: Ameriprise Financial, Charles Schwab
• Self-Directed Firms: TradeKing, Wells Fargo

In addition to overall client statement winners, some firms demonstrated superior capabilities in individual categories:

• Wells Fargo ranked highest in the design category, offering customizable displays and easy navigation.
• UBS provided the most impressive content, including detailed realized and unrealized gain/loss sections, proprietary and third-party equity ratings alongside account holdings and strong account value comparisons.

Monthly statements are one of the most established means of connecting a firm to its clients and, as such, statements offer a quantifiable way to measure the quality of communication offered by brokerages. At its best, a monthly client statement should allow brokerages to show each customer – in an efficient manner – that it understands their specific needs. Corporate Insight has ranked a wide array of statement features within the categories of design, content and “other,” which covers aspects such as environmental consciousness and email delivery.

“Recent market volatility has led millions of investors to question their investment strategy and asset allocation. In times like this, it’s critical that brokerage firms use the account statement to communicate with investors about their portfolio in a clear manner,” says Corporate Insight Executive Vice President Michael Ellison. “For this reason, our annual analysis continues to identify the best practices and recommendations that will help firms better understand customer needs. We hope this will lead to improvements, as well as set standards, in how brokerages communicate with investors.”

For the fourth year in a row, Merrill Lynch emerged with the strongest account statement, including easy to navigate account summary displays, holding details and performance information in a clean and simple design. Although much of the statement layout stays consistent month to month, Merrill Lynch allows space for a customizable message to target individual customer needs as they evolve.

Other key findings from Corporate Insight’s research include the following:

• Eight of the top ten firms are full-service brokerages.
• The top ten firms in the design category corresponded closely with the top ten overall finishers, demonstrating that the firms that present statements that are elegant and efficient often tend to provide strong content.
• Content is weighted most heavily in Corporate Insight’s analysis and the top finishers in this category also largely correspond to the top overall finishers.

Further information about Corporate Insight is available at http://www.corporateinsight.com

About Corporate Insight

Corporate Insight currently provides a comprehensive selection of syndicated research to 90% of the top financial service companies within the Fortune 500, representing 70% of the brokerage industry and 60% of US banking assets. Our expert analysts compile highly detailed research audits that deliver a unique, firsthand understanding of financial service product offerings. All of our research is compiled through personal interaction with each website. Further information from Corporate Insight is available at http://www.corporateinsight.com

CONTACT:

For Corporate Insight
Stephanie DiIorio, 212-754-5181
sdiiorio@intermarket.com
or
Ashley Bowles, 212-909-4782
abowles@intermarket.com

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  New York

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Professional Services  Banking  Consulting  Finance

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