“STRATEGYThe most noteworthy part of the CSAM online ini-

tiative is the offline strength of its Internet concept

and team. From project inception 18 months ago,

the site was seen as an integrated extension of a

comprehensive customer relationship program

already in place and strongly supported by top

management. Reflecting this, CSAM’s Robert

Birnbaum built a Web team that reaches beyond

technologists to include the active participation of

relationship managers, strategists, account service,

and marketing professionals. Thus, the online

effort and the broader relationship management

program are knit together, in support of each other

and the common business objective of retaining

assets through premium client service. CSAM’s

view is that the institutional business will remain

fundamentally a “relationship” business. Its site is

intended to unburden the relationship managers

from information delivery and mundane tasks

such as faxing and e-mailing, while introducing

opportunities for greater connectivity between

clients and the firm in more value-adding circum-

stances. The Web site provides a venue for clients

and relationship managers to access and discuss

portfolio results or commentary. CSAM anticipates

the Web will eliminate the copious paper reports

sent to clients at month-end, while providing

quicker access to both current and archival data.

SITE CRITIQUEAESTHETICS As the main purpose of the CSAM

site is information dissemination, data and text are

consistently treated as the center of attention.

While imagery and aesthetic touches soothe the

eye and sustain interest, they do not interfere.

Content remains the focus. The cohesive look and

tone is lucid, crisp, and readable and adds to the

perception of accuracy appropriate to an informa-

tion- and data-based venue.

CONTENT From a content perspective, product

and services descriptions satisfy user expectations.

Product descriptions begin with an overview show-

casing the manager’s background, product high-

lights, and benchmarked composite performance.

A link to each investment team’s insights about the

product is provided, which permits greater product

comprehension. Product descriptions continue

with a summary of the investment process and phi-

losophy, and information about the investment

ALMOST EVERY INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENT management firm is turning to the Internet to better

service its plan sponsor clients and to equip itself to market in an era where old-style defined benefit

marketing is more and more resembling the horse-and-buggy in the heyday of the Model T.

PLANSPONSOR asked Alec Wiggin, president of aabalone[red], a Connecticut-based marketing com-

munication and web development firm specializing in the asset management industry, to critique a cut-

ting-edge asset management Web site, that of Credit Suisse Asset Management.

CSAM.com

40 | PLANSPONSOR.com | 4.01

Case study

”

team. This section also includes a table of accounts

won and lost with their respective impact on port-

folio size as well as a screen indicating composite

characteristics, such as asset allocation, p/e, sector

and quality information. Each screen provides

links to the others and the left-hand navigation

field indicates related products in each asset class.

A .pdf profile of the product, with most of the above

information, is available for download.

Product material is treated in a competent but

flat manner. A select few other investment man-

agement Web sites—Morgan Stanley Asset

Management and SSB Citi, for example—pro-

vide interactive product selectors that permit

access to information via multiple inputs speci-

fied by the user. General market commentary is

easily accessible from every page and is offered

on a monthly and weekly basis. Though clients

are usually fixed on the here and now, this sec-

tion would be strengthened with an archive area,

allowing clients to go back in time to check his-

torical perspectives. The commentary is not

attributed to any specific author or group, which

detracts from credibility.

EASE OF USE The CSAM site evidences a reason-

able effort to eliminate confusion. For the most

part, screens do not try to accomplish too much

and the navigation is good. The use of self-explana-

tory tabs relies on user conventions established by

well-known sites, such as Amazon. Their use, how-

ever, can be self-limiting, as tabs restrict the num-

ber of new features that can be added. The client-

reporting demo works nicely since it closely

approximates the experience of accessing a real

client account. Navigation between elements and

other features within the demo replicate the live

account area. Despite being easy to use, there are

some areas for improvement within the site.

Access to the CSAM institutional site from the

main Credit Suisse and CSAM sites is bumpy. The

pathway involves multiple screens, links that the

user has to scroll to find, and as many as two secu-

rity messages that require attention.

BRANDING While the CSAM site’s core mission is

client service, there are a few clear-cut opportuni-

ties for better branding. Most notable is the need to

remind the viewers that they are in the institution-

al asset management section of the larger Credit

Suisse and CSAM sites. Additionally, CSAM would

benefit if all material printed off the site gave clear

attribution to the firm, perhaps imprinting this

material with the company logo and a reference to

the site’s URL. White papers and market commen-

tary are intellectual property important to estab-

lishing and maintaining a company’s brand.

CLIENT REPORTINGSTRATEGY This password-protected area was devel-

oped out of a desire to meet plan sponsor demand

and stay competitive. The strategic focus, as men-

tioned above, is to enhance the relationship

between the client and his relationship manager

rather than supplant it. CSAM intends, as much as

possible, to have online client reporting replace the

current paper format “Flash reports” that are now

distributed to clients at month-end. CSAM believes

that online reporting delivers value to clients by pro-

viding access to data as well as increased accounta-

bility and transparency of the asset manager.

CONTENT The type of screen report presented

within the password area is a standard menu of

offerings. Clients view a topline summary of each

of their portfolios that displays inception dates and

market values with links to account commentary,

relationship managers, and portfolio details—the

latter is viewable and downloadable as a raw Excel

document. The left-hand navigation field allows the

client to access specific categories of information

for screen viewing. Depending on the nature of the

client’s portfolio, these categories include perform-

ance, asset allocation, portfolio holdings, sector

exposure, quality distribution, and portfolio statis-

tics. These screens essentially are replicas of the

paper reports with which clients are familiar.

Notably, this set of reports does not include trans-

action activity or trading cost reports available on

some other institutional sites, such as on the BGI

site. All of the information presented on these var-

ious account screens is captured in an Excel file,

accessible from every page. No historical data or

commentary archive is provided at this time, but

CSAM expects to add this capability. CSAM’s client

reporting area appears to accomplish its mission of

giving clients easy access to monthly reports and

data that clients otherwise would have had to call

their relationship manager about in the past or put

their hands on the paper version of the report.

EASE OF USE The relationship manager, who per-

sonally trains the client in the use of the client

reporting capabilities of the CSAM site, makes an

overwhelming contribution to usability. Even for

those clients who are slow learners, have poor recall,

or are not Web savvy, the client reporting area is

easy to use. The log-on is simple and clear, provided

as the first link within the main content of the site’s

home page. The client reporting area succeeds in

doing a good job of delivering customized content

and keeping it the focal point of the screen. It is easy

for a client to move among the various sections of

the entire site while logged into an account. Other

factors that contribute to effective client reporting

are the ability to bookmark the log-in page, well-

written and pointed error messages, and the timing

out of a client session if the screen remains inactive

for a period of time. The latter feature reassures

clients that security is a priority at CSAM.

4.01 | PLANSPONSOR.com | 41

The online effort and the broader

relationship management program are knit together,

in support of each other and the common business

objective of retaining assets through premium client service

by Alec Wiggin, president, aabalone[red]

www.aabalonered.com