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| News & Scoreboards |
Online Matchmaker
Kasey Wehrum
08/02/2004
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In a perfect world, selecting a money manager or financial consultant would be
as easy as placing a “Help Wanted” ad. After providing a list of financial needs
and requirements, an investor could simply sit back and wait for the qualified
responses to come rolling in. Alas, the world is far from perfect, but the
Institute for Private Investors has created a service that may simplify the way
its members search for and evaluate financial service providers.
The new
service, known as Request for Information (www.memberlink.net), is an online and
anonymous tool that matches private investors to the financial professionals who
suit their needs. IPI members narrow the field by choosing from four main
categories: Long Only Equity & Fixed Income; Alternative Investments;
Investment Consultants; and Administrative or Other Advisory. After members fill
out a brief form that allows them to pose questions to the prospective advisors,
the system sends the request to the appropriate advisor members via the IPI’s
Advisor Databank. The system forwards replies by email to the investor, and he
or she can choose to follow up or not.
“This is a direct investor-to-service
professional link,” says Charlotte Beyer, IPI founder and CEO. By cutting out
the usual intermediary, Beyer says Request for Information benefits both the
investor and the money manager. “For investors, this is a great way to find an
appropriate professional, while staying anonymous until they are ready to take
the next step, thus avoiding unwanted sales pitches. For advisors, this is a
warm lead that immediately gives them a sense of what the investor is looking
for.”
In addition to general service questions, the online format allows
investors to customize their search by asking questions specific to their
financial situation. According to Beyer, those of us seeking a consultant in the
past have had to choose between word-of-mouth recommendations and electronic
chat-room formats, both of which could expose us to unwanted sales calls and
pitches. “Request for Information is a completely and totally confidential
interaction between the investor and the money manager; those are the only two
people with access to the information,” she says.
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