Your Consulting and Research Partner

Practical insights. Creative thinking. Senior-level perspectives. Hands-on executional support.

At Practical Perspectives, we concentrate on helping companies make business decisions that enhance their competitive position. We recognize there are multiple paths to achieving success as an asset manager or distributor. Our approach is to work closely with you to identify the right path and implement the initiatives best suited to accomplish your goals.

Practical Perspectives can help resolve the many complicated and significant challenges
you currently confront. Looking beyond general industry data and background trends, we craft specific responses and action steps for the important issues determining your business success – today and in the future. And we do this by applying real world, practical sensibility and perspective.

Learn more about how our customized consulting and marketing research support can help you achieve your strategic and tactical objectives.

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Our Focus

Practical Perspectives can assist you with a wide range of critical challenges and business issues. Our areas of expertise include:

• Business strategy and planning
  
• Distribution and channel development including financial advisors and RIAs
  
• Marketing and brand building
  
• Marketing and sales communications
  
• Product development and enhancement
• Marketing research and competitive intelligence/analysis

• New business development
• Strategic partnering
• Client acquisition and retention
• Relationship management and segmentation
• Issues and opportunities related to the aging of the Boomer generation and retirement income

The types of firms we work with include mutual fund companies, retail brokerages, insurance companies, institutional asset managers, retirement plan providers, and other organizations involved in the creation and distribution of wealth management products and services.

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Customized Consulting Support

Our focus is delivering practical insights and recommendations that support decision-making and subsequent implementation. We do this by providing hands-on customized business intelligence, project management and problem solving that combines strategy and execution. And our commitment is to drive your success – competitively and financially – by helping you consider your business opportunities in new and meaningful ways.

We do not believe in one-size fits all guidance or offer you pre-determined answers. We concentrate on providing a fresh perspective to your specific business situation and the issues and circumstances that make it unique. This requires drilling beneath broad industry trends and general market data to understand your competitive position, clients, capabilities and culture. These and other factors provide important guideposts for developing insights and implementing solutions to meet your objectives.

Our problem solving process integrates three broad sources of input:  Market Drivers, Client Factors, and Learned Experiences. Each contributes to our ability to create custom solutions and action plans for you.

Market Drivers

External factors that shape the competitive landscape.

• Industry trends
• Investor needs
• Demographics/attitudes
• Technology
•  Economics
• Market performance
• Public policy
• Competition

Client Factors

Internal drivers that are client specific.

• Core capabilities and competencies
• Competitive advantages
• Customer characteristics and segments
• Corporate culture
• Financial requirements and resources
• Organizational constraints
• Market positioning

Learned Experiences

Understanding and knowledge
contributed by Practical Perspectives.

• Insights
• Perspectives
• Creativity
• Tenacity
• Industry expertise
• Hands-on experience

These Three Factors Result in Customized Perspective and Action Plans

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Our Work

Examples of assignments we have recently undertaken include:

• Fielded qualitative research for a large retirement plan provider considering ways to more effectively serve the needs of key plan sponsor clients.
  
• Researched key developments and issues facing brokers and advisors who are involved with the distribution of retirement income solutions and services.
  
• Worked with a large broker-dealer to identify long-term trends impacting US retail market for wealth-related products and services, including advice delivery.
  
• Developed the investment philosophy and brand positioning strategy for investment management division of larger financial services organization.
  
• Analyzed key market trends impacting the fee-based advisory market including executing proprietary research targeting key advisor segments.
  
• Created sales materials for major independent broker-dealer.
  
• Supported creation of distribution strategic plan for major retail fund group.
  
• Examined new business development strategies for leading broker dealer.
  

• Developed market entry strategy for high net worth firm seeking to develop business within the foundation marketplace.
  
• Supported multiple spin-offs of major global multi-brand organization.
  
• Provided framework for internal strategic consulting group for a global insurance firm.
  
• Created roll out plan and recommendations for institutional money manager seeking broader distribution.
  
• Analyzed competitive marketing strategies for national bank seeking insights into competitor efforts in major markets across the US.
  
• Developed segmentation methodology and analytics for advisor business group.
  
• Analyzed marketing strategies for targeting discrete customer segments of major financial services firm.
  
• Examined competitor strategies in serving ultra-high net worth individuals.
  
• Explored marketing and business development strategies of investment firms targeting not-for-profit institutions.