Get your factsheets straight!

Fund information for investors is a bit of a mess. For more than a decade the investment community relied on the printed fund factsheet – two glorious pages of investment enlightenment for the end investor. We then managed to move into the ‘digital age’ with a new innovation…the factsheet pdf – granted, a step up from paper but not exactly hold the front page news. Today some companies excitedly point you to a web page dedicated to fund information, but for the most part it’s the same flat information that you’d find in a paper based factsheet, but this time in digital format.

Over the past 10 years we’ve seen some incredible digital advances. Apple’s iPhone and iPad were only launched in 2007 and 2010 respectively, there are now 1.3 million App Store apps and App Store downloads have recently topped 85 billion. The digital revolution, led by the likes of Apple, Google, Yahoo and Amazon has changed the world forever. But what’s changed in the delivery of investment information in that time? The answer, in the words of Paul Daniels is “not a lot!”

Why is it that Dyson, a vacuum cleaner manufacturer, provides better information to potential and existing customers than a company manufacturing investment funds? Why is it that Nike, a sports footwear, apparel and equipment company, can use digital to visualise data in a clearer way than a company that wants me to invest many thousands of pounds into their fund(s)?

Yes, we’re only talking about the humble factsheet here, but let’s not forget that poorly delivered information of this kind will certainly affect investors’ ability to make informed decisions. In an era where bodies like the FCA are pushing the financial sector towards greater transparency, surely more needs to be done? The technology is there to help investors make clear and educated investment decisions, it’s just not being harnessed to deliver information in a digestible way. It’s an issue that we’re looking to address but it’s also about time the industry pulled its socks up to find for a more customer focused digital solution.