Sentinel Investments [see profile] earlier this year assembled a two-person team to focus on the bank trust and RIA sales channel. Leading the bank trust/RIA effort is Jamie Atkinson, who was previously Sentinel's national sales manager.

Jim Cronin Sentinel Financial Services Company President

"We replaced Jamie's role with three field sales leaders with responsibilities split up by geography," said Jim Cronin, president of Sentinel Financial Services Company. "These positions are 'player/coach' roles filled by three of our most senior wholesalers."

Cronin said client interest prompted Sentinel to form the bank trust/RIA group. "We've got some fairly significant mandates from people we have not actively prospected, people that found us through Morningstar or through databases like eVestment Alliance," he said.

C.R. Shaw Sentinel Investments National Marketing Director

"It's also a recognition that that marketplace is a good fit for our style of money management and for our longer-term products," Cronin added. "As a smaller asset management firm, anywhere we can get leverage is important to try and pursue. In the retail space, it's harder to compete with the big fund families because they have more products, more wholesalers, more resources. We think we can compete there, but it's harder."

He pointed out that in more institutional distribution channels, it's less about hiring sales people and printing marketing materials and more about factors such as good performance, money management philosophy and a process that's repeatable.

Risk Modules

Meanwhile, Sentinel's marketing team led by C.R. Shaw is working on a series of modules that tackle the subject of risk. Sentinel plans to roll out the modules in the third quarter.

Shaw said Sentinel is currently finalizing the details with a third-party partner.

Sales Goals

In 2010, Cronin and his team chalked up another record sales year. Sales of short-term funds were $3.2 billion and sales of long-term funds, including stock, interntational and hybrid funds, came in at $1 billion.

For this year, Cronin, expecting a drop in short-term bond fund sales, set the sales goal at $1.5 billion. "Year-to-date we are on pace to hit the goal," he said.

As for long-term funds, Sentinel is targeting $1.5 billion of sales this year "and we are ahead of that goal," Cronin said.  

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