Segment: Brokerage
Publication date: Thursday, January 31, 2008
# Pages: (63 pages)

Abstract | Table of Contents

After seeing a couple of major statement redesigns in 2006, there was a bit of a slowdown in statement changes this past year. While no firms launched new or redesigned statements, we did see some enhancements made to existing ones. Additionally, we added two new firms to our coverage lineup this year.

For this analysis, we focused on paper statements that we received by mail. Paper statements are available from all but one Broker Monitor firm, which only allows clients to view statements online only. Online statements, however, are now provided by all Broker Monitor firms. As far as paper statements, some firms offer valuable and unique features. Two firms include financial market indicators, such as index values, right on the statement. Only two firms display the client’s top account holdings, and only two firms include a deposit slip with the statement.

We also found some standard features common to all but a small number of holdouts. All but two firms mail their statements hole-punched – a convenience for clients that prefer archiving their statements in binders. Two do not list a toll-free number on the statement, and only three firms do not allow clients to link statements for a single mailing. All but one firm provide an income summary.

Subjects

Website Reviews/Company Reviews, Account Management

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