Canadian investment firm McLean Budden has been recognized as Best in Class for its recently re-launched website.

The recognition places McLeanBudden.com at the top of investment industry sites in North America for its ability to facilitate an open and direct dialogue with clients, brokers and investment advisors.

“Our website evolved directly out of our ‘Look Forward’ philosophy, which drives our approach to investment as well as our commitment to client service,” says Roger Beauchemin, president and CEO, McLean Budden. “Our main objective for the site is to communicate this client-first philosophy and our commitment to service, open communication, problem-solving and transparency.”

The study was issued by Wickware Communications, an investment industry creative and marketing consultancy with offices in Toronto and Los Angeles. The study found that more than 90% of the sites analyzed fell short of best practices.

McLeanBudden.com features an extensive source of rich content and links to webcasts, industry insight and interactive tools. The site, available in English and French, consists of four sub-sites with quick and easy access to more than 170 pages and 2 million pieces of content. The site also features webcasts from McLean Budden’s chief economist, interactive tools such as fund comparisons for the retail investor, industry perspectives and the latest company news.

“McLean Budden has designed a very functional website that provides an engaging user experience,” says Cara Crosetti, account director at Wickware Communications. “The firm clearly demonstrates an understanding that investors view the Internet as the primary source of information about asset managers and their offerings.”

Since it was re-launched the website has attracted unique visitors from 123 different countries. Statistics have also shown that visitors are highly engaged, with some pages being visited 40% longer than similar websites in the financial industry.

One area that has proven particularly popular among visitors is the investment advisor portal, with some advisors returning multiple times per day for information. The portal allows advisors to access additional information on products, industry perspectives, and news geared to the advisor community.

The website was designed and developed by Toronto-based Smith Roberts Creative Communications.

Founded in 1947, McLean Budden has offices in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Chicago. The firm actively manages over $32 billion in pension, foundation, mutual fund assets and private wealth on behalf of institutional and private clients across North America, Europe and Asia.

IE