New boss plans FundSource rebirth

FundSource needs an “injection of passion” to arrest a decline caused by intense competition and its own complacency, the NZX-owned research house’s new boss says.

Monday, September 3rd 2012, 6:35AM

by Niko Kloeten

“FundSource is a brand that has been out there for 25 years this year and it’s a brand which has not had a lot of love in recent years,” he said. Sam Stanley, who took over as head of Fundsource at the beginning of August, is looking to revive a brand that has seen its position in the market slip but, he says, still has plenty to offer for fund managers and advisers.

“It’s desperately in need of a revamp and an injection of passion and pushing it along and getting it out there a lot more.”

Stanley said FundSource used to be the only game in town as far as New Zealand fund research but other research houses have “done a good job of taking market share”; Morningstar came here about a decade ago while Lonsec and Van Eyk have also recently entered the fray.

“Out of the three or four out there we’re probably third, whereas we used to be head and shoulders above.”

He said he would be meeting with clients to get feedback on what FundSource needed to do to lift its game; he said the view of advisers is important because they are “very very crucial” to the market.

His initial impression was that the quality of the research was good but the marketing and client relations side needed attention; cost also appeared to be an issue.

“Our relationships with fund managers are very good but we haven’t been meeting with clients anywhere near as much as we should have.”

However, Stanley said FundSource had some strong selling points such as its KiwiSaver research and its historical data, as well as its well-known brand.

“I liken it to Holden: people know it’s a great car and everyone used to like it but it’s gone into a decline in the last five years and now they’ve come out with a new range of vehicles.”

Niko Kloeten can be contacted at niko@goodreturns.co.nz

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