Little surprise—investment managers are benefiting from stronger asset growth and improving sales in the defined contribution investment-only (DCIO) space.
And even though target-date products and passive management are still growing in market share, asset managers are adapting and finding ways to generate sales from within, as well as outside, these types of vehicles, according to Sway Research.
“The long-running bull market for stocks and improving net sales are boosting DCIO asset bases,” the research firm reports in “The State of DCIO Distribution: 2018—Key Benchmarks, Developing Trends, Winners and Outlook.” “As of June 30, 2017, the average manager experienced 12-month asset growth of 12%, much of which came during the first-half, when the average growth rate was 9 percent.”
At a high level, Sway projects DCIO assets will rise 13 percent in 2017 to top $3.8 trillion for a 49 percent share of DC market assets by year-end.
It also projects continued growth will drive DCIO assets to $5.5 trillion, and 54% market share by the end of 2022.
The average survey respondent, which consisted of DCIO sales leaders and “employer benefits-focused intermediaries,” generated $393 million of net sales in the first-half of 2017 and $1.32 billion in 2016, which is a big improvement over where we were a year ago.
At the midway point of 2016, the average manager had $21 million in net redemptions from its DCIO unit.
At that time, over half of managers surveyed had experienced net outflows, but this dropped to 40% of managers in the first-half of 2017.
“The Defined Contribution Investment Only market has undergone substantial changes in recent years, and managers have had to adapt both in terms of product (e.g., institutional pricing, more satellite less core for active managers, etc.) and sales and marketing (increased coverage of analyst teams, greater expertise around advisor practice management, etc.),” said Chris Brown, Sway’s founder and principal. “Most have met the challenge and are beginning to reap the rewards in terms of positive net flows.”
Sales via advisors are also receiving a boost at some firms, thanks to better point-of-sale data. Asset managers have struggled for years to identify the source of DCIO sales, but the research reveals significant improvements are being made.
Though the average manager can only track 54 percent of DCIO sales to their source, this is an upgrade over the 49 percent average in 2016, and appears to be linked to a rise in the use of data aggregation services.
Furthermore, these tools are not only helping with sales tracking, but are making a positive impact in the areas of new business development, competitive intelligence, and internal communications between DCIO and other sales units.
“As managers further integrate these solutions into their sales process, including the development of predictive models for identifying key prospects, net sales will only improve,” Brown added.