Ext. Consumer Duty Webinar

CONSUMER DUTY

FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY

The FCA is pushing for better and continuing communication between advisers and clients as part of the Consumer Duty​

CLIENTS ADVISERS RECOMMENDATIONS

Advisers believe the way they communicate with clients will be the biggest change to come​:

• Less than half of consumers fully understood any of the communication they received from advisers​

• 88% of consumers read communications about their investment performance

• 83% of consumers read communications about product details and fund factsheets​

The three areas advisers expect to change most are how they:

• Communicate with clients (34%)

• Assess the value of advice (33%)

• Segment their client base and service offerings (28%)​

Recommendations from Aegon:​

• Review all client communications and see where you can work to write them in plain English as much as possible

• Consider working with an external content provider to help with the messaging and putting information in a clearer and more concise way

WE NAMED OUR FIRM “EXT.”

BECAUSE WE ACT AS AN “EXTENSION” OF YOUR TEAM.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

13+ years in business

100% focus on the financial services sector

3 offices in London, New York & Toronto

Majority women-owned business & 40% female executive leadership

50+ employees

In-house Analysts with Bloomberg terminal research capabilities

REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS

Our team conducts research using:

STRATEGIC SERVICES

KEY MESSAGING & FIRM NAMING BRANDING & VISUAL IDENTITY

We believe that every successful brand has a strong messaging foundation. We help our clients define their brand promise, value proposition and key messages through a series of interviews and distilling them into a simple Key Message Framework.

Once your key messaging is in place, you need a visual identity that reflects who you are, your values and your product/sales promise. Whether it’s a logo refresh or developing a complete brand package, our creative team will develop something that is authentic to you.

AWARENESS & LEAD GEN CAMPAIGNS

Content is king – but it needs to be supported by strong creative and campaigns that leverage all relevant platforms. Our design team will give you ideas for infographics, ads and campaign materials that will garner attention and drive action.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP & CONTENT STRATEGY SOCIAL & DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY

A good content strategy puts the right content in front of the right user at the right time, in the right format. We build content strategies to engage, educate and drive readers to act.

We use an integrated approach to develop your digital strategy – whether that’s through your website, social channels or OTT applications. We use video, html infographics and content to engage, then metrics to measure. We also help client maximize their CRM platforms.

CONTENT, DESIGN & DIGITAL SERVICES

PITCHBOOKS & PRESENTATIONS WEBSITES & SEO WHITE PAPERS & ARTICLES

As your firm’s narrative evolves and becomes stronger, your pitchbook must also adapt. Our team will work collaboratively with you to help reflect the maturation of your firm in your updated pitchbook.

A website should be a tool that engages clients. Our team writes content, designs and builds sites that deliver a premium client experience, drive engagement and help firms grow. We also provide Search Engine Optimization (”SEO”) services.

Strong content is at the heart of every sales and marketing initiative. Our team of writers includes CFAs who can produce deep-dive technical whitepapers, as well as thoughtleadership pieces and other collateral.

Brochures and other collateral still play a role in any sales process. Our team will help structure, write and design materials that will help you inform your end-clients and lead to a sale.

Email continues to be a powerful way to communicate with your target audience. The trick is to write email copy that gets noticed and design that has impact. Our team can deliver –so you get more responses.

We write monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual investment letters for alternative asset and hedge fund managers. We also develop branded templates that make your communications look more professional.

WEALTH ADVISER CASE STUDIES

PRECEDENT WEALTH

NAMING

Developed 12-14 firm name options, including name origin story that tied into firm messaging and culture for the new firm.

MESSAGING & BRANDING

Interviewed stakeholders to deliver key messaging, logo, and visual identity.

CONTENT STRATEGY & COLLATERAL

Using the key messaging and branding as a foundation, developed collateral including stationary, pitchbook, brochure, and welcome letter.

WEBSITE BUILD

Created the website to reflect the new business and support the content strategy.

PRECEDENT WEALTH

PRECEDENT WEALTH

LAUNCH NEW BUSINESS

4

DEVELOP CONTENT STRATEGY

REFINE MESSAGING & BRAND

BUILD NEW WEBSITE

Promoted new team member and addition to the business through social channels.

Developed a series of 12 white papers, promoted through social.

Refined messaging and visual identity.

Created new website to reflect their growing business and support the content strategy.

SAMPLES

OF WORK: THOUGHT LEADERSHIP & CONTENT STRATEGIES

CONTENT STRATEGY

WHITEPAPERS

16

RECENT WHITEPAPER TOPICS:

• Active vs. passive investing

• Actively managed and factorbased/smart beta ETFs

• Advanced analytics

• Asset allocation

• Asset manager selection

• Currency hedging

• Credit, convertibles

• Cybersecurity

• Defined contribution vs. Defined benefit

• Emerging markets equity, debt and small-cap investing

• Enhanced equity

• Estate planning

• Exempt market dealer use of technology

• Fiduciary duty

• Future of investor relations/communications

• Goals-based investing

• Idea generation/creativity tools

• Inflation, income, volatility and longevity

• Inflation-protected income strategies

• Investor psychology/behavioral investment

• Investment commentary best practices

• Latin America: macroeconomic and equity markets

• Liability-driven investing

• Liquid alternatives

• Macroeconomic outlooks for CIOs

• Mortgage funds

• Public pensions, individual pension plans

• Private debt

• Private corporation tax changes

• Robo-advice platforms

• Real assets

• Responsible investing/ESG

• Saving for education

• Sector-specific topics: tech, health care, infrastructure, energy, real estate

• Small-cap, large-cap equities

• Time-weighted vs. money- weighted returns

• Value of financial advice

• Venture capital

Small-cap equities paper

Liability-driven investing

INVESTOR LETTERS

Hedge Fund Manager - e-blasts and quarterly investor letters

Wealth Adviser – quarterly investorletters

Outsourced CIO - e-blasts and quarterly investor letters

SAMPLES OF WORK: WEBSITES & VIDEOS

WEBSITES

VIDEOS

Interview-style video

Explainer-style video

Motion graphics & interview-style video

Social media video

Motion graphics with voice-over video

White board-style video

“Consider working with an external content provider to help with the messaging and putting information in a clearer and more concise way.”