April 9, 1991
TO: SALES FORCE MARKETING COMMITTEE NO. 12-91
RE: SPRING COMMITTEE MEETING - APRIL 24, 1991
__________________________________________________________
Enclosed is a preliminary agenda for the next meeting of the
Sales Force Marketing Committee on Wednesday, April 24, 2-5 p.m.
The meeting, which will be held at the Madison Hotel, 15th and M
Streets, N.W., will follow a morning session of the Direct
Marketing Committee and a joint luncheon featuring "Washington
Scene" reports on the Institute's legislative and regulatory
activities. An optional dinner will be held the preceding
evening at 7:30 at Duke Ziebert's Restaurant, Connecticut Avenue
at L Street, N.W. If you have not already done so, please let
Connie Creswell at the Institute know whether you will be
attending the meeting, the luncheon, and/or the dinner. (Please
note that there is an advance "registration fee" of $40 for the
dinner.)
Between now and April 24 we would appreciate your giving thought
to some of the issues that will be addressed at our meeting, so
that you can come prepared to contribute to the discussion.
Since our schedule will permit no more than 30-40 minutes of
discussion on each of the broad topics in items 1-3, we will aim
to end each discussion with a list of questions for further
investigation. These questions can be submitted to the
moderators of the General Membership Meeting panels on pricing,
bank distribution, and the retirement marketplace.
With regard to the discussion item on regional sales statistics,
we would like to know whether there is interest in a subcommittee
to develop member support for more complete and timely reporting
of state-by-state sales so that the Institute statistics can in
return be more useful for comparative analysis by members. If
you are interested in participating in such an effort, will you
please call or write Bill Strott at Merrill Lynch or Barbara
Levin at the Institute to let us know.
Here are some questions to consider regarding other agenda items:
l. Mutual funds pricing: What are the future implications of the
NASD proposal on 12b-1 fees? How effectively are we combatting
"negative press" on 12b-1 fees? Will dual pricing spread within
the mutual fund industry? Within the broker-dealer community?
What kinds of organizations are participating in wrap-fee
accounts? What are the advantages and disadvantages of wrap-fee
accounts for the client and for the broker? Does the wrap-fee
account represent serious competition? With regard to changing
sales charge structures, what is the marketplace saying about
sales force payment, and what is the sales force saying?
2. Distribution channels: Is wirehouse distribution considered a
mutual fund growth area, or is emphasis being shifted to bank and
financial planner distribution, for example? What are the latest
trends in bank distribution? Will the current emphasis in
wirehouses on proprietary fund sales be a long-term trend? If
so, how will it affect the industry? Why have direct marketers
been gaining market share? How will the sales force distributors
respond to this trend?
3. The 40l(k) market: What kinds of broker-dealer compensation
practices are current in the 401(k) market? How are broker-
dealers reacting?
4. Other discussion topics: How important are the ICI regional
sales reports to your company's sales/marketing planning? Would
you benefit from more comprehensive reporting by a wider
universe? Do mutual fund sponsors find sales contests valuable?
What is the attitude of broker-dealers toward sales contests?
What are the benefits and risks of ARM funds and why are they so
popular? How does your company use the data from independent
data services?
6. Associate member participation: Shall we invite broker-dealer
associate members to one committee meeting annually?
Please call Barbara Levin or Bill Strott if you would like to
make a brief presentation with regard to any of the topics above.
All committee members are encouraged to participate in the
discussion.
We look forward to seeing you on April 24.
J. William Strott
Chairman
Barbara Levin
Director, Sales Force Marketing and
Financial Planning Services
cc: Marketing Committee