Corporate Insight Finds Wide Disparity in Compliance Requirements in Opening Brokerage Accounts.

NEW YORK -- In a newly published research report examining the customer experience in opening cash management accounts at 20 leading full-service brokerage firms, banks, and mutual fund companies, Corporate Insight found a wide disparity in the amount of compliance documentation customers were required to review and sign. What was clear from the research was that some firms had spent considerable time in simplifying the countless forms and related collateral materials while others never considered the customer experience at all. The research was conducted across three venues (branch meetings, phone, and online), using "mystery shopper" techniques, for a total of 40 shops in all.

"Compliance is a major issue across the financial services industry today and firms want to make sure they 'get it right,'" said Peter Ellison, CEO and President of Corporate Insight. "In the eyes of the customer, the account opening process sets the stage for what the rest of the firm-client relationship may be like. It was clear to us that firms with savvy marketing departments recognized how important it was to simplify the compliance documentation in order to make the account opening process less cumbersome. Our in-depth study with complete sets of each firm's compliance forms and related collateral can help marketers at firms with a daunting amount of compliance collateral convince their compliance officers that a streamlining of the materials is indeed possible".

Corporate Insight's Brokerage Account Opening Study contains over 350 pages of detailed data collected from December 2004 to February 2005 as well as a complete set of collateral materials and films of the online account opening experience. It also includes Corporate Insight's unique analysis, commentary, and qualitative matrices on various aspects of the account opening process.

For more information on this study, please visit www.corporateinsight.com.

About Corporate Insight

Corporate Insight is a leading provider of competitive intelligence, analysis, and consulting services to the financial services industry. Founded in 1992, the firm has a blue-chip client base of industry leaders who rely on the company's commentary and insight gleaned through years of research examining the issues and trends that have shaped the industry. CI monitors the top firms on an ongoing basis, measuring, analyzing, and communicating industry best practices. Its products include Bank Monitor, Broker Monitor, Credit Card Monitor, e-Monitor, Mutual Fund Monitor, and Mutual Fund Advisor Monitor, as well as custom project work. For more information, please visit www.corporateinsight.com.