Retail Brokerage and Distribution Summer 2016

The lead article in the Summer 2016 edition of the Retail Brokerage and Distribution Advisory Service focuses on the significance mutual funds have played in the full-service brokerage (FSB) channel and, conversely, the role the channel has played in the development of the Canadian fund industry. The article points to changes in the business model and business mix of advisors and relates these changes to the challenges faced by fund companies to remain relevant in the channel at a time of a squeeze on fees and shifts in practice management. To some, the advisors – those responsible for the buildup of fund assets – are now the biggest threat to the fund companies through the growth of managed accounts. To other observers, fund companies are set to prosper in the channel through innovation, customization and pricing unable to be matched by in-house products. This feature is essential reading for strategists and marketing leaders at banks, fund companies and independent dealers.  While recent growth in the use of funds is encouraging, the industry has reached a fork in the road and enterprises of all sizes must decide which route to follow in a business environment that is likely to remain unstable.