Client experience overtakes performance as differentiator in asset management

Service quality has now emerged as the key differentiator in asset management, representing a fundamental shift in client expectations, according to Schroders Investment Management and Franklin Templeton.

Speaking on the panel titled “Beyond Performance: Personalisation, Scale and the New Investor Reality*”* at the ALFI Global Asset Management Conference in Luxembourg, participants agreed that the traditional model, where asset managers defined client service standards, has been upended.

During the discussion, a key theme emerged that today’s clients arrive with pre-formed expectations shaped by seamless, on-demand experiences from industries outside of finance, such as on-demand streaming and next day delivery from Amazon.

Vanessa Roger Grüneklee, conducting officer for marketing/distribution and branch oversight at Schroders Investment Management Europe, and Rafal Kwasny conducting officer for distribution, marketing, and TA oversight at Franklin Templeton Luxembourg, emphasised that investors increasingly expect personalised, always-on services delivered at speed.

“Clients are no longer benchmarking us against other asset managers,” Grüneklee noted. “They are comparing us to the best digital and physical experiences they encounter anywhere.”

The discussion underscored the growing importance of learning from other sectors to meet these demands, particularly in areas such as 24/7 access, tailored solutions, and frictionless interaction.

When asked whether asset management is still primarily about returns, the panel delivered a clear message: performance is now assumed. What sets firms apart is service.

“Performance is a given,” Grüneklee said. “Service is where differentiation happens.”