Eighty-one percent of investors think that their brokerage or investment firm is ethical and honest, while 85% of those surveyed believe that their firm has earned their trust and 78% of respondents agree that their broker or investment advisor treats customers ethically and honestly, according to a recent Maritz Pol conducted by Maritz Research and Maritz Learning.
“The investment industry may now be able to breathe a little sigh of relief, but they can’t exhale too quickly,” said Dick Pace, director, research services, Maritz Research. “More than one-quarter (28 %) of investors state that they are somewhat or very likely to leave their primary broker in the next 12 months. Not surprisingly, one of the biggest factors influencing their intention to leave is poor investment performance. However, an equal proportion stated they intend to leave because their broker isn’t proactive (32 %) or that the broker lacks responsiveness (28 %).”
Though market performance may be out of the broker’s control, the quality of service brokers and firms provide is controllable – especially during a broker hand-off, when client dissatisfaction is particularly high. While the dissatisfaction can stem from many factors, Maritz Research and Maritz Learning found that nearly half of existing clients who were assigned a new broker are dissatisfied with how the firm handled the transition.
“These findings suggest that investment firms may not be doing all they can to deliver excellent customer service,” said Rodger Stotz, vice president, managing consultant for Maritz Inc. “Because the key drivers of client satisfaction have more to do with the broker/client relationship than with actual investment strategy, firms should use learning solutions to equip sales representatives with the skills and knowledge needed to improve their performance and consistently deliver the desired customer experience.”
Maritz Poll is a national consumer opinion survey conducted periodically by Maritz Research. This recent online Maritz Poll surveyed 1,002 randomly selected adults throughout the United States who have investments other than a company-sponsored retirement plan about their satisfaction with brokerage services.