Asset growth strategies will continue to be one of the main goals for firms in 2010 as they struggle to reduce costs by improving advisors’ productivity, says SunGuard chief operating officer Blaine Maxfield. The software and services technology firm recently highlighted 10 trends in wealth management for this year. Maxfield added that communication will increase transparency, and will help managers “solidify their role as a trusted advisor.”

Here are the 10 trends in wealth management, as identified by SunGuard.

1. More investors are seeking advice as economic conditions remain uncertain.
2. Service will persist as a key differentiator for advisors to attract and retain clients.
3. Automation will remain critical to profitability, productivity and the ability of firms to serve clients as a trusted advisor.
4. Increased client communication and online self-service tools will help strengthen relationships between the network of investors and their advisors.
5. Firms will require data aggregation and systems integration for efficiency and growth.
6. Regulatory requirements and demands for transparency will drive the need for firms to monitor risk at both the client and corporate levels.
7. A shift to open architecture and Software-as-Service (SaaS) solutions will help firms increase transparency and accelerate time-to-market.
8. Selective outsourcing will become an attractive alternative for firms looking to reduce costs and maintain or increase service levels.
9. Trading, retirement and financial planning needs will continue to grow globally, particularly in emerging markets such as India and China.
10. Establishing the right mix of services, products, client segments and technology will help define the leaders in wealth management.

First was “Annuity Advisor” columnist Jack Marrion, who’s been with the magazine since we started.

“Depending on the type of annuity, producers have experienced either a roller-coaster ride or a promising leap followed by a plateau over the last decade,” he writes. “Sales of multi-year annuities have dramatically soared and crashed as CD rates did the same, leading to 2008-09 record fixed rate annuity sales as CD rates plunged to their lowest levels ever. Index annuity sales roughly doubled in the first part of the decade when the stock market looked scary, sales stalled in the middle years as the stock market appeared stable, and then jumped up again due to the ’08 crash. The new normal times of the next decade foretell promising years for annuity purveyors," he wrote.

Second, we consulted with Sheryl Moore, president of Annuityspecs.com. She said:

“Annuity sales have increased just slightly in recent years, whereas indexed annuity sales have surged since the turn of the century,” she said. “Last year set a record for indexed annuity sales at over $8.3 billion and 2010 estimates are projected to overshadow 2009 sales. Consumers have largely turned to their agents for indexed annuities because of the product’s ability to protect principal; this has been timely in the wake of the dot-com blowout at the turn of the century and 2008’s market collapse. Producers can look forward to growing innovation in the annuity market, as insurers look for new ways to attract consumers to products that provide a guaranteed income they cannot outlive while interest rates are at historical lows.”