Zac will join Bennelong on 27 October. Located in the Sydney office, he will contribute to the business development function across all channels, but in particular the national accounts and research relationships.

Bennelong’s Head of Distribution, Andrew Aitken, said Zac’s extensive experience in financial services roles is particularly valuable as he has worked both as a research analyst and in distribution. “Our existing sales team has built strong relationships throughout the industry’s institutional and retail value chains. The introduction of this new role will enable us to better service our clients and expand Bennelong’s distribution footprint.”

Zac has worked at Zurich Investments for the last four years, where he was Strategic Account and Research Manager, responsible for growing Zurich’s strategic relationships with research houses and national dealer groups. Previously, Zac worked as Research Analyst & ETF Strategist with Morningstar and Accountant & Portfolio Analyst with UHY Haines Norton.

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Craig Bingham

Successful fund manager, Bennelong Funds Management (Bennelong), today announced the appointment of Craig Bingham to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Craig will join Bennelong on 20 October.

With over 25 years’ experience in the industry, Craig is a highly regarded financial services executive with extensive experience in Australian and international markets. He joins Bennelong from Federated Investors Asia Pacific where he was CEO. Prior to that, he was CEO at Portfolio Partners which later became Aviva Investors Asia Pacific, where he was responsible for establishing and developing licensed asset management businesses in Australia, Singapore and China, and expanding Aviva’s presence in Asia and the Middle East. Under Craig’s leadership, he built the strong-performing, award-winning Aviva Investors brand in the Australian market, opened distribution offices in Taiwan, the Middle East and Japan, and created an enviable corporate culture with a strong profit focus.

“I am thrilled to be joining Bennelong and becoming part of the successful business that has been built over the last six years,” said Craig. “Bennelong have established a fantastic platform for growth and its prospects for the future look great, so it is an exciting time to be leading the business.”

Bennelong Chairman Mike Pratt said, “We are thrilled to have attracted such a highly respected and talented leader. In particular, Craig’s experience leading successful businesses with multiple asset management teams across various asset classes, both locally and internationally, and his background in institutional sales, will be incredibly valuable in helping Bennelong achieve its long-term goals.

“While Bennelong has seen exponential growth in the past six years, our ambition for future success continues to be a key driver. There is still plenty of untapped potential to be explored – the acquisition of new teams and expansion of our distribution footprint, both domestically and globally, are the business’ main focus moving forward. We look forward to broadening Bennelong’s offer under Craig’s leadership.”

Since its establishment in 2008, Bennelong has grown its funds under management to over $6 billion through its four asset management teams, Bennelong Australian Equity Partners, Avoca Investment Management, Kardinia Capital and Bennelong Long Short Equity Management.

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Jeremy Bendeich, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager of Avoca Investment Management, discusses the fundamentals of intrinsic investing.

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He shares his thoughts on why the outlook for earnings growth is more stable, and how an experienced small caps manager can capitalise on the opportunities this presents.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-Ij892abvzk

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He shares his thoughts on where the index is heading, and why it’s a good time to look at investing in the small caps market.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NvXi5Byl3H0

The post Video: Small caps sector outlook – Q4 2013 appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The new role has been created to grow the Group’s retail footprint throughout Queensland and provide a robust platform to support growth in BFM’s funds under management, currently at just under $5 billion.

BFM CEO Jarrod Brown said the Group was pleased to announce a permanent presence in the Queensland region. “Our existing sales team has built strong relationships with advisers and investors in this state. The introduction of the new role will enable us to better service these groups and grow our presence.”

Jodie has over 16 years’ experience within financial services, joining BFM from AIW Dealer Services where she was Practice Development Manager responsible for the group’s national network of advisory practices. Previously, Jodie worked as a Business Development Manager with Challenger Financial Services Group.

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Social media and marketing for advisers

Despite the buzz about new marketing tactics such as SEO, e-marketing or social media, traditional marketing methods are still valuable tools in the marketing arsenal.

Following It’s a brave e-world: e-marketing tips for financial advisers and Getting your marketing emails read: tips for advisers, boutique fund manager Bennelong Funds Management talks about how the old and the new can perfectly co-exist. No need to abandon something that has been working well for your business, just because there’s a new kid on the block. Instead, combine traditional marketing methods with the new to integrate your marketing efforts.

How does it work in practice? Here are a few practical tips to illustrate how an integrated marketing approach can work.

Something old, something new

An example of a QR code

Print ads and brochures: Consider adding Quick Response (QR) codes to your print ads. QR codes are patterned squares that house specific information accessible via a QR code reader on a mobile phone or iPad. It directs the person to a webpage, newsletter or anything else you’ve assigned to the code. For example, create a specific landing page on your site, reinforcing the message of the ad. If you’re active on social media platforms, encourage the reader to look you up, e.g. include the line ‘Stay connected with us on Twitter and Facebook’.

Seminars: If you already organise seminars for clients, then consider video-taping the presentations. Alternatively, you could simply record the audio component of your seminar. Offer a link to the video or audio material via your social media channels, e-newsletters or website; it’s a good way to reach the people who missed out on your seminar.

Emails to clients: In your daily emails, encourage clients to connect with you via the social media platforms you’re active on by inserting ‘social icons’ (see image at right) in your email signature. For example, write ‘Follow us’ and add the relevant social media icons. On IconFinder, you can freely (or inexpensively) download the relevant icons, which can also be included on your website.

Client newsletter: if you produce an e-newsletter, print out some interesting, relevant articles and post them to your older clients who may not be active online. You could also post the content of the newsletter on your website, perhaps as a blog post. Have a look at our articles It’s a brave e-world: e-marketing tips for financial advisers and Getting your marketing emails read: tips for advisers for more insights into email marketing. Again, insert social media icons in your e-newsletter to raise awareness of your social media participation.

Sponsorship of local businesses: If you sponsor the local sports team or primary school via traditional banners or signs at the venue, also start tweeting about it. For example, write a tweet about the team’s wins and your support, or post a picture on Facebook about the latest event you attended at the school.

Requests for referrals: Make it easy for clients to refer your services online; create a ‘Share with a friend’ link on your website. When someone clicks on the link, an automated email pops up with an already completed subject line and email recommending the recipient visits your website/reads an interesting article (the company who created your website can generally program this straightforward request for you). Your client simply needs to insert the email address of the person they want to share your details with. For your client, it’s a very non-intrusive way to highlight your services and recommend you.

Presentations: You can make your presentations easily available on social sites like Slideshare. Your presentation is then available to a broader audience online, and you will be able to email the presentations to clients without sending big PowerPoint attachments (simply email the link to the online copy on SlideShare). A link back to your homepage on the final slide can help drive more traffic to your site.

Client testimonial: If you still pin ‘Thank you’ cards from clients on the noticeboard in your waiting room, why not also spread the word online? A positive testimonial about your services can be shared on your website and social media platforms.

Think outside the traditional marketing box, and you will quickly discover that traditional marketing methods can easily be combined with the latest marketing tactics.

For further reading, here are a few useful links.

Click here to view a video about how to integrate email and social media

Click here for a brief blog post about QR codes and financial advisors

Don’t abandon traditional marketing methods, integrate and interact

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Financial advisory firm or boutique fund manager, we’ve all posted the classic direct marketing (DM) pack – the traditional covering letter and flyer. And while DM is far from dead, today you can do it electronically. Welcome to the world of e-marketing.

Broadly speaking, e-marketing is the use of digital media (from SMS to social media, email to web) in order to promote your services to existing and potential clients. It can be a powerful, cost-effective way to deliver the right message to the right audience.

Who do I email?
The first step is to segment your database, making it easier to tailor your emails to each segment’s needs. For example, young and single clients might want to know more about saving for a first home, whereas couples with adult children might be drawn to emails about retirement strategies and protecting assets.

Once you’ve segmented your database, decide which segment is the most important to the growth of your business; they may be the best segment to contact first.

Bear in mind only people who explicitly gave you permission to email them can be contacted. Having a ‘Subscribe to newsletter’ button on the home page of your website, for example, is a good first step to help grow your client database.

When do I email?
The evening rush can be a popular time of the day to send emails, but open rates vary for each industry. In the finance sector, emails sent before 10am receive the most traction. Click here for an interesting infographic that illustrates the open rate landscape (by Pure360 Research).

How often should I email?
Think carefully about the regularity of your emails to clients. Not only do you need to consider the volume of emails they receive from you, but you need to be able to create and maintain a level of interesting content. A daily email – even though packed with information – can easily become invisible to the recipients. On the flip-side, infrequent emails, like only emailing once a year, can also lead recipients to forget about you.

Depending on the nature of your business and size of your client base, a monthly or quarterly e-newsletter may be well received and a manageable deliverable for your team. There are no established rules, but aim to maintain a consistent email schedule.

What are the ingredients of a successful email?

• Subject line: a rule of thumb is to ‘tell what’s in the email, not just sell what’s in the email’. Make it meaningful to the recipient, because you want to convince them to open your email without being too pushy.
• Content: recent research shows the average time allocated to a newsletter after opening it is only 51 seconds , so be direct and to the point. Recipients won’t read a long, verbose piece no matter how relevant. Whether it’s your view on FOFA or an update on your business, the content should contain something that interests the reader.
• Call to action: include a clear call to action so your readers know exactly where to click. Avoid offering them too many links, but focus on a key action point such as ‘Contact us now for an appointment’, with your email address embedded as a link.
• Opt-out option: an opt-out or unsubscribe option is legally required in every email. Simply make it part of your email template and ensure people who unsubscribe are not contacted via email anymore. You must be compliant with the Spam Act (for more information see ACMA’s link below).
• Disclaimer: don’t forget to include the legal small print where relevant, including your registered business name, ACN and AFSL details. Your compliance person should be able to draft a suitable disclaimer that you can re-use for all e-marketing activities.

Test, test, test
All the above tips could easily go to waste if your email includes small typos or links that aren’t working. These mistakes signal a lack of professionalism and can easily be avoided. Always send a test email to yourself and proofread it. Ideally, let a second pair of eyes run over the email.

Don’t forget to follow up
Engagement is a strong measure of email success. It’s important to measure the open and click-through rates of each email campaign, including phone or email enquiries that result from your efforts. There are many software packages available to help you with email marketing, such as Vision6 or Swift Digital, but Google Analytics, which is free of charge, will show click-through rates to content on your website.

Following a potential client from visiting your website to subscribing to your emails, and getting further engaged by requesting additional information or reading your articles, is an informative exercise and important to help you improve your e-marketing activities.

People don’t give out their email address for nothing – they do it in exchange for value. So be creative and try to add value.

For further reading on e-marketing, please review the below links.

Identifying the 10 best email subject lines:
http://www.bjcbranding.com/10-best-email-subject-lines/

The Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) blog: http://engage.acma.gov.au/category/e-marketing-blog/

Your complete guide to measuring email marketing success:  http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/53/docs/ebooks/an_introduction_to_email_marketing_final.pdf

Five ways financial advisers can improve their email marketing campaigns:
http://financialservices.about.com/od/ClientService/a/5-Ways-Financial-Advisors-Can-Improve-Their-Email-Marketing-Campaigns.htm

http://www.bennfundsmanagement.com.au/

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Creating a visually appealing, easy-to-use website is crucial for site visitors to find key information on your website, but how do you ensure your business is found online in the first place? The answer is SEO. 

What is SEO?
SEO is the process of improving the quality and volume of web traffic to your website when certain keywords and phrases are entered into a search engine. SEO’s aim is to make your website ‘search engine friendly’ – elevating its position in top search results.

The better your SEO, the more likely search engines, like Google, will display your site at the top of the search results list. As a rule of thumb:  the higher the website ranks, the more likely people are to click through to your site.

What words define your business?
How do you want to be found online? Start by looking into your site visitors’ online behaviour – which you can do via Google Analytics, see our Website tips for financial planners – and compile a list of the key search words that people are using to get to your website. Think about what words or phrases visitors use when looking for your website, such as ‘wealth adviser’ or ‘financial planning’.  Try to be as specific as possible and create a list of the most important words/phrases.

The next step is to include these words in your website’s page titles, content and page description. Avoid generic page titles like ‘Page 1: introduction’. Financial Planning Magazine recommends targeting one to three keywords on each page.

Be careful not to overdo this tactic by forcing a keyword into a title, or by resolutely repeating a phrase on the same page. The goal is to make your content clear and reflective of what you do.

Links back to your website
Off-page SEO refers to strategies outside your website’s design. Essential to this is getting other (quality) websites to link back to your site. It’s like gathering votes for your website: the more votes, the higher you rank in the search results.

However, it needs to be done right, as not all links are equally weighted in this ‘voting system’. Quality, not quantity counts. Focus on relevant and diverse sources that link to the right page on your website. A good way to begin is submitting your website to online directories, e.g. Money Management’s Blue Book, True Local, etc.

Always create high-quality content and regularly update your website with fresh new content – it will bring more links over time, particularly via social media.

Local search optimisation
Search engines know where users are located and aim to show results that are specific to each user’s location. If your targeted investors are local rather than global, consider the below tips to increase your website exposure locally:

• add local details such as city, postcode or region to your keywords
• post a local – and relevant – breaking  news or upcoming event on your website
• create geographical tags, eg. set up a Google Maps or Yahoo Directory listing
• list your office address on your ‘Contact us’ page, but also add a location map.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. For further reading on SEO for financial services businesses, the below links provide some useful reading:

www.financialplanningmagazine.com.au/practice-management/growyour-business-through-good-practice-seo
www.financial-planning.com/blogs/4-Tips-to-Better-SEO-for-Financial-Planners-2683474-1.html
www.advisorwebsites.com/blog/seo/seo-strategy-for-financial-advisors-5-must-haves/
www.adviserlounge.co.uk/2013/01/24/google-analytics-and-search-engine-optimisation-for-financial-planners-part-2/

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With today’s proliferation of mobile devices – from smart phones to tablets – this fairly new type of media has been stealing the spotlight away from traditional media and marketing tactics. The question is: can social media be a valuable marketing tool for financial planners?

Yes… if done correctly.

So what is social media?
Social media is the use of web-based platforms to share content, opinions and experiences. Think Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn, etc. It allows people to connect with others who share similar interests, and interact quickly and easily online.

Getting started
If you haven’t already, start by learning more about the various social media platforms by being a passive user, observing what others do. For example:

• download Tweet Deck, and begin exploring various topics of interest and following ‘digital influencers’
• set-up a Twitter  account. Even if you’re not ready to start sharing content via Twitter, you can follow people or organisations of interest, and gain an understanding of how the platform works and conversations get started. When setting up your Twitter account, select a name that fits logically with your business so you can be easily identified by interested parties
• create your personal profile on LinkedIn and connect with colleagues, associates and clients within your network, helping to raise the profile of your business.

How will social media fit into your overall plan?
The first step is to clarify how social media can help you achieve your business objectives. Avoid jumping into the social media pool without a plan. Your efforts shouldn’t be a whim, but rather integrated into your broader business development activities.

When considering your social media goals, make sure they are closely tied to your overall business goals. According to Wealth Professional, an adviser’s social media goal should be “to be recognised as a trusted, expert source who provides engaging, useful and relevant information”.

Select the right channels
It’s important to consider which channels will be the most appropriate for your business. LinkedIn is mostly used for business purposes, whereas Facebook is located at the other end of the spectrum with a high personal usage; Twitter is often situated somewhere in between. If you have a very technical relationship with clients, for example, Facebook might not be the right channel.

Social media is not about creating a single strategy for all channels, but about tailoring your message to suit the channel which gives you access to your target audience. As you wouldn’t discuss FOFA with parents at your kids’ school via Facebook, likewise, you wouldn’t use LinkedIn to share the pictures of your camping trip with work associates.

Create content that is engaging and compliant
Think about what information your audience is likely to want and how well placed you are to provide it. Remember it must be both interesting to them and relevant to your service offer (i.e. being a trusted source of financial planning advice).

Of course you cannot provide personalised advice via social media – only general information, but don’t let that get in the way of providing content that is engaging. Include issues important to your clients with which they can identify, e.g. share your views on recent regulatory changes impacting superannuation.

Interactions via social media should be two-way conversations and good content will help to keep the lines of communication open. After all, you want to make it easy for current – and prospective – clients to engage with you. Offer many lightweight interactions, but also focus on quality rather than quantity.

Once you’re well on track with your social media strategy and implementation, think about adding links to social channels on your homepage and start cross-promoting the various platforms on which you’re active. Kearney Group Financial Services’ website, see image below, illustrates one way how to do this.

www.kearneygroup.com.au

While advocates of social media praise the merits of it being a free marketing tool, it requires a considered approach and an investment of your time, so keep it in perspective and treat it as simply an additional tool in your marketing kit.

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