Document Actions
Financial Services Survey
Among financial companies, top financial performers are not necessarily the top innovators, journalists said in a survey released by MS&L and GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media.
The study, which asked 151 journalists questions about financial services industry leaders in performance and innovation, was part of Roper’s annual Media Perspectives of Financial Journalist’s survey.
According to the financial services journalists surveyed, Goldman Sachs is the clear leader in expected financial performance. When asked what financial services company is most likely to produce the greatest returns to its shareholders in the next five years, 13 percent of those polled named Goldman Sachs; nine percent named Citibank/Citigroup, and six percent said Fidelity Investments. Further down on the list were Bank of America (5%), Charles Schwab (4%) and Wells Fargo (3%). But when asked to name financial services firms most likely to create the next major innovation in the industry, the answers were quite different, almost in reverse order: Fidelity Investments topped the list at 13% of respondents; Charles Schwab at 10%, and Citibank/Citicorp at 6%. Goldman Sachs, the firm with the best perceived financial performance, was at the bottom of the top five (3%).
“These results indicate that journalists covering financial services do not see a direct correlation between innovation and performance,” said Peter Harris, director of MS&L’s corporate practice in New York. “They also suggest that the pay-out for innovation may not be immediate financial gain, but rather a longer-term investment for the future of the firm.”