Kasina Study Indicates Leading Asset Managers Are Modernizing Decades-old Sales Practices, Processes And Technology

NEW YORK, April 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- kasina, a DST company providing consulting and forward-looking research to the asset management industry, today released the results of its research on sales team structures.

The kasina study – "A Modernized Sales Team" – identifies several hallmarks of a modern asset management sales operation spanning the Divisional Sales Manager, External Sales, and Internal Sales positions. Results were achieved through interviews with selected asset management distribution executives and the analysis of survey responses from national sales managers.

kasina's findings indicate that, given the headwinds in the active management space, firms that modernize their sales teams by using data analytics to inform the art of building relationships will be better positioned to succeed.

"There are components of sales team organizations, roles and compensation that have been largely unchanged for the last twenty years," says Jeff Strange, Director of Research for kasina. "We suggest that many of the long-held beliefs about roles and structures can be adapted to future change through refining roles, and training and incentivizing sales teams to focus on the activities that build client relationships."

Among the kasina report's key findings:

• The biggest challenge to targeting the best advisors is the lack of third-party data on financial advisors.
• The primary focus for Divisional Sales Managers should be assisting with centers of influence and setting goals for the external sales force.
• 44% of National Sales Managers stated that it is unclear what defines a "best advisor," so it is recommended that organizations go through the exercise of creating an Ideal Client Profile.

In addition to its findings, the paper provides recommendations on changes that can be made to each sales role so that the sales teams can thrive in the future industry. kasina, which earlier this year became part of DST's Financial Services segment, also includes a means of self-diagnostic for asset management leadership to determine whether their sales teams are evolving in a way that will provide a competitive advantage.

"Distribution executives want and need better access to better information on advisors," says Strange. "It's clear they could put their teams in a better position to succeed by leveraging data and technology."

For more information on kasina's "A Modernized Sales Team" report, contact Myra Bartalos, Marketing Director, at [email protected].

About kasina
As a respected consultant to the asset management and insurance industries with unique industry focus and knowledge, kasina is a leading thought leader for issues in distribution, marketing, e-business, and product. kasina, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DST Systems, works with a wide variety of companies from five continents. The company's family of clients, which includes global leaders of the industry, represents over $8 trillion in assets under management. For more information, visit https://kasina.com.

About DST
DST Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of sophisticated information processing and servicing solutions to companies around the world. Through its global enterprise, DST delivers strategically unified transactions and business processing, data management, and customer communications solutions to the asset management, brokerage, retirement, and healthcare markets. Headquartered in Kansas City, MO., DST is a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.dstsystems.com.

Media Contact:

Laura M. Parsons                                                                                            
DST Global Public Relations                                                                                        816.843.9087                     
[email protected]

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SOURCE DST Systems, Inc.

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