In the investment industry, every financial advisor goes to great lengths to make good recommendations. That means taking every opportunity to arm themselves with high-quality, high-impact data … which is where investment research platforms come in.
Today, InvestmentNews is casting a spotlight on the best research providers for US financial advisors and wealth firms.
Identified through a comprehensive survey of financial advisors and related professions, the top research platforms for US advisors in 2024 were evaluated on a number of critical dimensions including their visualization and reporting capabilities, screening tools, customer service, integration with other software, and documentation.
The list that came out of that process has some household names and strong incumbents – including the likes of Bloomberg and Morningstar. But because the world is floating on a massive ocean of data that only grows every day, there’s plenty of room for healthy competition in the investment intelligence space.
“Some of the names in this space are well established, they have brand name recognition, but you can’t get too comfortable,” said Steve O. Oniya, CFP and president of OM Investments. “A new entrant could come in and take some of their pie.
Still, there’s only so much time in the day, and no advisor wants to be drowning in data. That creates a complex balancing act for research providers to navigate, as the line between valuable reporting and information overload can be perilously thin.
“[P]roviding executive summaries at the beginning of research, that to me is good customer service because people in my position are busy,” Oniya says. “We’re trying to assess a lot of information, so if they find a way that makes things efficient and user-friendly, that makes a big difference.”
When it comes to producing investment intelligence, a provider’s ability to provide information in a time-sensitive, easily digestible way is table stakes. But for those who want to pull ahead and take the lead in the race for market share, the ability to actively listen and address the needs of advisors and firms can make all the difference.
“It really comes down to whether the application’s relationship manager has an active dialogue with the planning team,” stressed Scott Ward, director of relationship management services at Alabama-based firm Johnson Sterling. “Is the relationship manager curious about what’s working well for our clients, what’s working well for the planning team, and where we see opportunities for improvement?”
To find out more about the best investment research platforms for investors in the USA, click here.
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