Environics Research Group maintains a dedicated team of market researchers who specialize in financial services research. The Environics Financial Services Team delivers customized research solutions for a wide variety of financial institutions. Our research solutions provide both broad, strategic insight and actionable, tactical findings.

Our flagship study, the Advisor Perception Study, is a comprehensive look at the competitive mutual fund and life/health insurance marketplaces from the personal financial advisor's point of view. This study has been conducted for the past 10 years, making it the longest running study of its kind.

Key analyses included in the deliverables for the Advisor Perception Study offer both strategic insights and tactical findings:

• Brand Equity Measure
• Client expectations framework
• Drivers of mutual fund and insurance sales support
• Loyalty Measure
• Drivers of acquisition and defection in both the mutual fund and insurance industries
• SWOT analysis
• Brand mapping

Environics' Financial Services Team also offers two complimentary studies to the Advisor Perception Study - one from a sales point of view and the other from the customer service point of view.

The Wholesaler Effectiveness Study measures how well mutual fund company sales teams are perceived by the personal financial advisors whom they service. Results for the Wholesaler Effectiveness Study are delivered at the most granular level - by individual wholesalers. This allows mutual fund companies the ability to assess how each member of their sales force is perceived to be performing against the competition.

The Call Audit Study is a mystery shopper program that measures how well the financial institution call centers that service personal financial advisors are performing in the eyes of the advisors. Financial advisors are recruited to participate in the program in which they call into the call centers they frequently use, request help from the customer services representatives and then rate the effectiveness of the CSR on a number of attributes. Results for the Call Audit Study are delivered quarterly and report on call center performance relative to competitors.

The Advisor Perception Study, Wholesaler Effectiveness Study and Call Audit Study together provide financial institutions that deal with personal financial advisors the most comprehensive look at how their brand is being perceived by advisors, as well as the diagnostic tools necessary to make strategic and tactical decisions.

Beyond Syndicated Financial Advisor Research

Environics' Financial Services Team specializes in custom, as well as syndicated, market research. Our custom research abilities span qualitative and quantitative research across all financial service stakeholders - retail investors, personal financial advisors, institutional investors, corporate executives and academics.

No Research Is Too Big Or Too Small

The Environics Financial Services Team conducts research projects ranging from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our team members work closely with our clients to ensure research design best meets our client's needs.

No matter what the size of the project, the Environics Financial Services Team guarantees the delivery of actionable results - strategic and tactical.

For more information, contact

David MacDonald
Group Vice President
Email: david.macdonald@environics.ca
33 Bloor Street East, Suite 900
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M4W 3H1
Tel: (416) 920-9010
Fax: (416) 920-3299
Toll free: 1-888-222-5809