Asset managers are failing to fully-exploit the information they gather from their distribution channels, according to an about-to-published report from New York City-based Kasina. The research also found that firms are planning to up spending on CRM software to $1 million from $980,000 in 2002. Yet their failure to integrate that technology with other aspects of their sales strategy is holding them back.

"We found that most firms use a three-tiered approach of prospects, producers, and top producers, rather than looking at advisor profitability based on the needs and value of the intermediary," said Steven Miyao, CEO of Kasina. He argued that this approach is "much more efficient and profitable" for asset management firms.

Miyao pointed to three primary reasons for why asset managers are only been marginally successful in maximizing their profits:

Market Share Mentality - Focus on simply gathering assets, not on profitability.

Technology Focus - Focus on customer relationship management (CRM) technology deployment versus strategy.

Silo Strategies - Business-unit focused strategies, rather than enterprise strategies.

"Among asset management firms, there is a disconnect between how firms gather data from their financial intermediaries and the how that data is analyzed and used for sales and marketing purposes," he added.

The white paper is based on Kasina's interviews with 70 leading asset management firms from across the globe and will be published in April.

Kasina's also found that 78 percent of asset management companies do not currently use predictive models as inputs into their advisor segmentation schemes. Seventy-five percent do not have an accepted and documented definition of customer relationship value across all accounts and products.  

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