Clients that invest in managed portfolio products, or ‘wrap’ accounts, receive very informative and in-depth account statements from the firms handling their money, according to a recent study conducted by DALBAR Inc.  The study states that account information provided to wrap account holders is generally more indepth than that given to holders of other investments such as retail mutual funds. 

According to the study, wrap account statements are better at providing investors with their personalized rates of return, and at informing investors as to why their accounts have performed the way they have.  They also excel at comparing investors’ performance to a benchmark such as the S&P TSX Composite Index or the MSCI World Index.

“These statements are designed with a more informed investor in mind, and companies providing these statements have been good at meeting those investors’ elevated needs,” said Mark McDonald of DALBAR.  “Wrap investors are getting a very clear picture of how their investments are doing.”    

DALBAR rated seven wrap account statements and assigned each a score out of 100 possible points.  The highest score was earned by the Franklin Templeton Investments “Quotential” statement with 81.38 points.  Quotential also earned top marks in 2004, when DALBAR last conducted this study.  Other leading statements are produced by the Mackenzie Investments “Symmetry” program and the AGF Funds Inc. “Harmony” offering.

Wrap account statements earned an average score of 72.32, while retail mutual fund statements earned an average of 66.61.

DALBAR, Inc. is a leading financial services research firm with offices in Toronto and Boston, specializing in measuring the performance of institutions and financial professionals in areas such as client satisfaction, service quality, and communications effectiveness.