NAOI - Investor Education for Individual Investors

The NAOI
Mutual Fund Family Education Program

Mutual Fund Families? They All Look Alike.....

The NAOI has worked with, studied and taught the the individual investor market for eight years. One of the things we have documented through numerous interviews and surveys is that to the average individual investor all fund families look alike. None has an obvious competitive advantage.

When individuals were asked what would make them notice one family over another, a large majority replied that the fund company offering a serious education benefit and encouraging them to become actively involved in the fund selection process would likely receive their business.

The NAOI Mutual Fund Family Education Program gives your company this tremendous competitive advantage. As a part of this program we will take our standard "Smart Investing in 8 Easy Lessons" course and modify it to discuss your investing products. The course will teach individuals the basics of investing, give them a structured plan for making decisions and then show them how to build a portfolio using your funds.

The NAOI and your fund company will work together to create a study course that conveys the advantages of using your funds. Then your organization can make the course available to prospects and customers either in a completely online format or by giving them a book, as illustrated at right, with a password to access a related online component.

Below we explain how this program will dramatically increase your prospect base and the rate at which you can convert prospects into clients.

A Serious Investor Education Course Customized for Your Fund Family

Click here to compare and contrast how your company is probably working now and how it will be much more effective at attracting clients with the addition of an education component. (Note that a new browser window will be launched. Close it when finished).

A Profile of the Buyers of Mutual Funds

From extensive market surveys the NAOI has identified three characteristics of individual investors that support our contention that a tremendous opportunity exists for the mutual fund company that offers a serious education benefit.

First, our surveys indicate that to the average individual investor all of the major fund families look alike with no obvious differentiators. Fund family selection is typically dictated by a financial advisor or a third party recommendation.

Second, there is significant public distrust of recommendations provided by fund companies. Suspicions are high that fund family representatives are salespeople first and objective advisors second. The public believes that they get “cookie cutter” recommendations without adequate analysis of their unique needs and without explanation of why the funds suggested are the best available.

Third, the individual investor is increasingly willing and able to become more involved in the fund selection process but fund companies do little to either enable or encourage their active participation. NAOI surveys indicate that the public will strongly favor working with a company that empowers them to become more personally involved in the fund identification, analysis and selection process.

The Fund Family Opportunity

The NAOI sees a great opportunity for the fund family that recognizes the above listed factors and aggressively responds to them. Below are several of the benefits that will accrue to the fund company that offers a customized education program developed in conjunction with the NAOI.

Offer Solutions. By offering fund education along with fund products your organization will be seen as a solutions provider as opposed to a sales organization. Investors are looking for solutions, not products.

Dispel Distrust. By offering education your organization is seen as one that both encourages and empowers individuals to participate in the investment decision making process. This dispels the public notion that your fund family only cares about moving product.

Be A Financial Partner. An education component gives your organization the basis for a marketing campaign that emphasizes the fact that you are a “financial partner” with your clients, not primarily salespeople. An education program enables your company to develop a stronger relationship with your clients and as a result they will become more involved and active customers.

"Capture" Prospects. By enrolling prospective clients in a serious personal investing course - as described in detail on this site - you “capture” the prospect for a significant period of time. Marketing material is discarded in days. Access to a training course will be used by the prospect for weeks if not months and your company maintains contact with each student via the online study course site.

Conduct Meaningful and Productive Seminars. Individual investors tell us that typical fund family seminars that are nothing more than “data dumps” and are not effective. The fund family that works with the NAOI can conduct education seminars during which prospects will be enrolled as "students" of your customized education course. Instead of leaving your seminar with a bunch of brochures, they leave with a password to the course that will teach them the basics of investing and how to build an efficient portfolio using your fund products. Now instead of just handing out literature you have started a long-term relationship with seminar attendees.

These benefits accrue to the company that offers their prospects and clients true education. Many fund companies claim to offer “education” but most use this term to refer to simple “information” resources. The description of NAOI courses provided on site explains why our courses are true "education" not simply "information". Click here to view a summary of the difference.

Contact the NAOI today at 202-686-2556 or info@naoi.org to begin a discussion of how a customized NAOI Education Program can expand your fund family's prospect base by millions of individuals. After a brief dialogue we will be able to provide you with a detailed proposal containing specific costs and action items.