(September 12 – 17:20 ET) – DALBAR Inc.’s most recent study on consumer statement preferences shows that the Internet has not diminished demand for paper statements from financial services firms in the United States.
The study by the Boston-based firm covers life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, brokerage accounts and annuities. It reveals that less than 1% of mutual fund investors prefer to get their statements on demand, while 57% elected to receive them quarterly, and 40% wanted a statement every month.
This demand for paper statements among consumers that use the Internet regularly flys in the face of pundits who say that demand for traditional statements will be replaced by electronic versions. DALBAR president Louis Harvey explains the reluctance to give up paper. “We have a natural instinct to touch our possessions and paper statements meet that need. Additionally, our culture still requires paper as evidence of ownership.” He added that, “It will take a major change in behaviour to replace statements with an image on a screen.”
The study also found that consumers had little interest in seeing multicolour statements. It was far more important that statements show the options and features available, and to describe how to obtain more up-to-date information. Also rated highly were statements that highlighted the most important information and suggested an appropriate action to take.
-IE Staff