And these firms are not turning the lights out and waiting for conditions to recover. Everyone from portfolio managers to wholesalers are using the current remote working environment to actively reach out to clients and prospects via email, commentaries and blog post, phone calls and video sessions to explain what’s going on in both the markets and in their strategies.

Hortz: Did any of the responses surprise you?

Given that the market was still down around 25% at the time we conducted the survey, we were surprised that over 50% of respondents said that their firm’s AUM actually increased from spring 2019 to spring 2020. We also thought that a large number of firms would be strapped for cash or laying off people. It turns out that very few are financially hurting right now.

Another unexpected result is the respondents’ confidence in their sales teams. Around 67% feel that their salespeople are doing a good job this year, compared to 55% last year. This ties in with another surprising result: That nearly two thirds feel that, even now, they are doing a good job of generating leads.

Hortz: Any responses or trends you saw that concerned you?

With on-site visits and conferences curtailed for the immediate future, most firms understand that digital marketing will become the primary means for educating and selling for the immediate future.

Most firms candidly admit that their digital marketing efforts are not where they should be. Less than half believe that their website, email marketing, social media and public relations efforts are particularly effective. And at a time where Zoom sessions and webinars have replaced the usual office lunch-and-learns, only 38% feel that they are using these virtual communication platforms effectively.

Yet, when asked which areas of improvement are at the top of their “to-do” lists, digital marketing and PR did not even make the top 5.

This is understandable, because most smaller firms do not have the time or in-house resources to beef up these efforts on their own. But if they want their voice to be heard in a marketplace that’s getting glutted with digital communications, they need to either shore up their marketing departments or partner with outside marketing firms that can do this work on their behalf.

What do you feel are the most important takeaways or implications from this research?