It would be reasonable to assume—especially given the increasingly competitive and uncertain distribution landscape—that distribution leaders’ views would vary greatly about which initiatives will drive long-term success for their firms. After all, National Accounts and National Sales leaders must consider a plethora of external and internal factors that can really impact business outcomes. However, based on our recent surveys of National Accounts and National Sales leaders, there is a general consensus that data and technology refinement and enhanced business intelligence will be two points of focus for the majority of asset management organizations in 2023.

In our "Remote Selling is Here to Stay" study, we analyzed survey results from more than 500 financial advisors (conducted in association with Horsesmouth) to identify how advisors are now thinking about engagements with asset managers as many professionals are returning to the office. The results may surprise you.

In the future, all national sales teams will function as hybrid or virtual wholesalers to some degree, and we see movement toward that end in the market today. Our recent survey investigates, at length, the prevalence, staffing, utilization and alignment of wholesaler roles. The findings reveal that the roles of the hybrid and virtual wholesalers rely heavily on the size and distribution footprint of the organization with definitions and responsibilities varying significantly between medium-sized managers (with $25B-$100B in AUM) and large managers (with >$100B in AUM).