Hybrid events the best option for Italian intermediaries

Financial intermediaries in Italy have only a small preference for in-person events, according to research by Fundamental Media

Key points:

• Online events are considered convenient especially for saving time on travel, while in-person events were praised for the networking benefits, the ability to focus on the topics, the opportunity to interact with managers and gain better insights.
• The overall level of satisfaction with asset managers is high with 80% of Italian intermediaries being very or quite satisfied.
• Satisfaction with asset managers’ communication is also quite high, especially regarding their proactiveness and timely updates.

Italian financial intermediaries have a slight preference for in-person events, but the differences are minimal, so a hybrid approach to event management remains the best approach, research by Fundamental Media found.

Online events are considered convenient especially for saving time on travel, while in-person events were praised for the networking benefits, the ability to focus on the topics, the opportunity to interact with managers and gain better insights.

Intermediaries feel that further improvements could be made by making online events more interesting and interactive with Q&A sessions and by increasing the number of in-person events.

From June to September 2023, we surveyed 170 financial intermediaries in Italy, consisting of 121 financial advisers and 49 discretionary portfolio managers/fund selectors, about their investment views, satisfaction with asset managers and media consumption. The Italy engagement report is part of our European financial intermediaries research, which also includes reports on the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

The overall level of satisfaction with asset managers is high with 80% of Italian intermediaries being very or quite satisfied. Online events and communications are the areas of support where satisfaction is the highest, while training and thought leadership see the lowest satisfaction levels.

Satisfaction with asset managers’ communication is also quite high, especially regarding their proactiveness and timely updates. Insights about markets and strategies are well perceived along with information about asset allocation and portfolio positioning.

Other findings from the 2023 Italy engagement survey include:

• Italian intermediaries are most likely to increase their clients’ exposure to fixed income, global equities, emerging market equities, ESG and active management. Compared to previous years, the use of ETFs and ESG increased for financial advisers but decreased for discretionary portfolio managers and fund selectors (DPM-FS).
• Cost and investment philosophy are the most important factors when intermediaries are selecting funds, followed by fund manager tenure. Fund ratings are much more important for advisers while DPM-FS put a greater value on investment philosophy and transparency.
• Financial intermediaries use several sources to meet their professional development requirements (CPD), but most of them, especially advisers, rely on their employer for their professional development and self-learning. A third also relies on training provided by asset managers.
• Most print publications are received at the office and while print readership is overall decreasing, some print publications showed a remarkable growth. Desktop remains the most used format to access websites and this trend is stable over time. The use of most social media for business purposes is also stable compared to 2021 with LinkedIn continuing to be the most used social medium for both advisers and DPM-FS. 

For access to the full reports, contact [email protected]