How do Investment Managers describe themselves? Using text analytics for insight

Filed in Asset Management

Every Investment Manager has an “About Us” page. The problem with an “About Us” page is exactly what internet marketing is not supposed to be… it is about the company instead of the consumer or client reading visiting your site.

Let’s use a new text analytics tool to see how Investment Managers describe themselves and who does a good job of turning the page into an opportunity to engage with the client and explain how the client can benefit from doing business with your Investment Management company.

Background:

I recently came across VocabGrabber, which can be used to analyze any text you’re interested in, generating lists of the most useful vocabulary words and showing you how those words are used in context. So I thought it would be interesting to use this tool to look at what sort of vocabulary Investment Managers use on their “About Us” pages. In order to keep this research to a reasonable length, I have chosen 7 firms serving such segments as individual retail consumers or Institutions.

Research:

Navigation:

When trying to locate the “About Us” section of each of the surveyed firms, in some cases it was quite easy and a main part of the navigation. However, some firms, lead by Fidelity Investments, make the content much harder to find.

Single message versus Distinct:

Additionally, the majority of firm’s websites had a single “About Us” message that described the core values of the company as a whole. However, some investment managers have taken to creating distinct “About Us” content based on geographical region as well as client segmentation.

Is it about the client or the company?

Interestingly, only 4 out of 7 firms mention client or customer in a relevant fashion, lead by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Franklin Templeton Investments, who each placed the strongest emphasis on the “client” based on the text analytics. On the other hand, American Funds, J.P. Morgan Asset Management in the Americas and Vanguard each stressed “investments” as relevant term, obviously placing an emphasis on the product and capabilities they possess, rather than on the client.

Is using text analytics a fair way to judge the content on investment manager websites? How else can text analytics be used in the investment management industry? What can we take away from the analytics as it pertains to search engine optimization (‘SEO’)?