The document discusses a study by Kasina of the top 10 websites for financial intermediaries in 2008. It finds that the top sites are adopting more advanced technologies like AJAX, Flash, and embedded video. Advisors expect sophisticated, interactive content and functionality from these sites. The methodology used a three-tier system evaluating availability, quality, and user experience to review over 50 intermediary websites and determine the top 10. It provides the rankings and some examples of strengths from the top sites. The document concludes with some keys for improving intermediary websites like covering all basics, prioritizing what advisors care about, and focusing on user experience.

1. kasina’s Top 10 Web Sites for Financial Intermediaries Fall 2008

4. The 2008 Top 10 Web Sites for Financial Intermediaries 2008 Top 10 Intermediary Web Sites 59 60 51 70 Putnam Investments 10 59 53 56 70 OppenheimerFunds 10 60 47 60 69 J.P. Morgan Funds Management 9 61 60 56 72 MFS Investment Management 8 62 67 56 69 DWS Investments 7 63 53 62 71 Franklin Templeton Investments 6 64 47 71 65 The Vanguard Group 5 66 67 64 68 John Hancock 4 74 67 73 79 American Funds 3 75 73 78 73 BlackRock 2 76 67 76 84 Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company, Inc. 1 OVERALL KASINA WEB INDEX SCORE (out of 100) USER EXPERIENCE (out of 100) QUALITY SCORE (out of 100) AVAILABILITY SCORE (out of 100) COMPANY