Cost: $6000.00

Download Overview

Fund Boards are increasingly concerned with comparing data on fund operations and expenses.  One area that causes considerable problems is Transfer Agency.  US mutual fund companies are not consistent in how they report transfer agency costs.  Available industry data underestimates the true costs of operating a transfer agency because, without standards, fund firms report their costs using inconsistent approaches.  Fund Boards are consequently left to consider industry data that is incomplete and misleading.  

The Barrington Partners survey captures data from participants in a tightly defined, “apples-to-apples” approach.

The benefits of participating in the Barrington Transfer Agency Survey include:

• Participants obtain a comparable analysis of actual expenses from an independent source.
• The Survey breaks down costs by 7 distribution channels.
• Costs are broken down by 10 categories, within each distribution channel.
• Costs are considered in $ per account, basis points by channel and cost category.  Other factors are reported, such as average assets per account.
• Participants are furnished with information on topical issues such as small account fees/account minimums, investor migration to more cost-effective channels, and capital investments.
• The survey investigate metrics such as call center volumes and transaction automation.
• Each participant receives a report with their firm’s initials next to each data point in all charts and graphs.
• For confidentiality, other firms are numbered simply by the order they fall in each chart of graph.

With the assistance of participants over the years, we have improved our survey development and refined our definition, strengthening the value of this report to participants.

As in the last such survey, the 2011 edition includes numerous Benchmarks that rank each participant against the group, and provide an easy-to-understand presentation around four primary issues:  costs, distribution, efficiency and automation, and account minimums.  The Summary of Findings and Survey Results will analyze the factors that contribute to transfer agency costs, and present a question-by-question summary.

Barrington repeated this survey in 2011 at the request of current and prospective survey participants, who wanted to change the schedule to odd years.  Henceforth, the survey will be conducted on a biennial, odd-years schedule.

As with all Barrington industry surveys, results are published only to participating firms.