Funds are changing the way their businesses work to bolster their distribution operations, according to Cerulli Associates.

According to their latest report, U.S. Retail Product Marketing and Sales Organizations 2012: Maximizing Distribution Success with an Effective Sales and Marketing Strategy, effective distribution support is the most common reason for a U.S. to change its organization.

Senior analyst Pamela DeBolt said that the majority of asset managers (82 percent) cite their need to support distribution more effectively as the main reason for making organizational changes. Other reasons include include the need to be more strategic (76 percent), expand digital marketing (65 percent), and operate in an increasingly competitive environment (53 percent).

"Fierce competition, demanding clients, volatile and changing markets, complex products, and pervasive technology are influencing the types of roles and the organizational approach that marketing groups need to support distribution effectively," DeBolt said.

According to the study, among asset managers, there are as many organizational structures as there are types of managers. Some marketing teams are centralized, others are decentralized. A centralized group can help facilitate a more strategic and cohesive approach to marketing and branding. That said, a centralized marketing operation is not the right approach for every manager. Some marketing groups' responsibilities span both retail and institutional markets, other marketing teams support one channel.  

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