FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMAND TOP CONSUMER DOLLARConsumers are willing to pay an average of 5.2 percent more for financial services compared to other industries, according to a retail survey conducted by Kanbay Research Institute. In the poll, financial services topped such other sectors as communications, media content, restaurants and beverages, retail, and travel.
The study also identified the top performing financial services companies in each major category: banks - Comerica; investment firms - Goldman Sachs; consumer credit - Ford Motor Credit and Capital One Financial Corp.; insurance companies - GEICO; and credit bureaus - Equifax.
To download a copy of the study, visit www.kanbayresearch.com/financial.html.
SUNGARD BOOSTS WEALTHSTATION
SunGard, a provider of financial services software, said that it has bolstered its proprietary WealthStation product with the addition of unified managed account capabilities.
Its WealthStation 2.0 is designed for financial advisors at banks, broker/dealers and independent advisory firms to consolidate assets from multiple accounts and institutions to a central planning repository. Once there, advisors can access multiple investment programs on a single platform from one point of entry.
WealthStation 2.0 provides access to separate account managers, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds on a single platform. Its consolidated client view and single point of entry allow users to share allocation data and aggregates accounts by household.
