The global economic downturn continues to dominate the headlines, and the doom and gloom reported by the media seems to be getting doomier and gloomier by the day.

However, there are still investors out there who refuse to be scared off by this media scaremongering and who understand the basics of investment. This equates to opportunities for financial services providers and the outsourcers and technology providers which support them.

Forward-looking investors that were burned by equity income funds, absolute return funds, and products linked with exposure to financial stocks during the recession are still willing to consider corporate bonds and certain structured products, for example. For these investors, it’s simply a question of deciding on the term of the investment, what returns they hope to achieve, and then choosing the best product. For financial services providers, effective product strategies and clear, compelling marketing are going to be key to retaining and expanding market share.

Most of today’s investors understand that it’s never a good idea to put all of their assets and risk in a single asset class or investment, and so many people are now opting for low-cost funds that are adequately diversified in order to help reduce their risk. For example, it has become popular to diversify the risks within bond investments by creating a portfolio of several bonds, each with different characteristics.

Although the spectre of inflation – along with the potential for a rise in interest rates at some stage – normally spells bad news for the bond market, these factors have actually been priced into the market already, thereby making the bond market an attractive choice during challenging economic times. Even so, the nerves of many investors have been jangled in recent years, which means that the marketing of any financial product has to be carefully planned and executed in order to attract new customers and avoid costly mistakes.

For example, it’s now more important than ever for firms to establish their brand and reputation in the marketplace very clearly. Success in this area will rely on careful and strategic planning, since the products on offer, how they are marketed, administered and supported will all come into play here, whether the firm decides to focus on a niche segment of the market or a broader customer base. Outsourcing to a specialist with deep domain experience of this process can prove a cost-effective route to market.

It will also be important to develop a unique value proposition that will help firms to stand out from the competition. Although most investors claim to focus exclusively on the returns on offer, firms will need to use a certain amount of psychology here as well, since investors will be looking for products that appear to be safe, fair and reasonable, especially as many people have found out the hard way that products that claim to offer ‘guaranteed returns’ are not always what they seem.

Financial institutions will therefore need to make sure that they are aware of current market trends, and that they are able to keep their clients informed about their latest services and/or products effectively, since that is still the best way to encourage clients to purchase them. Even so, extensive market research, a thorough competitor analysis, and close ties with knowledgeable partners will still be be required to attract – and retain – today’s more financially conservative customers