Displaying items by tag: advisors

Lawsuits against retirement plan sponsors have increasingly focused on excessive fees and the failure to select lower-cost investment vehicles, like Collective Investment Trusts (CITs), which many sponsors are surprised to learn have existed longer than mutual funds. 

CITs, which will reach their centennial in 2027, operate much like mutual funds in structure and oversight, but typically offer lower fees and greater flexibility in pricing. Larger retirement plans have rapidly adopted CITs, with plans over $500 million in assets now allocating about 41% to them, up significantly from just a few years ago. Despite their benefits, some plan sponsors hesitate to adopt CITs due to their lack of publicly searchable tickers and unfamiliar regulation by the OCC rather than the SEC. 

However, CITs offer key advantages, including fiduciary governance and the potential for customized pricing through asset aggregation or specialized share classes. 

With education and communication, sponsors and participants can overcome initial concerns and access the cost-efficiency and fiduciary alignment CITs provide.

In today’s market, financial advisors can show real value by building actively managed, customized portfolios using low-cost passive ETFs instead of pricier active funds. A core-and-satellite approach — with an S&P 500 ETF at the center and defensive sectors, bonds, and gold ETFs as satellites — has proven particularly effective in 2025, outperforming the broader market. 

Strategic rebalancing between the outperforming satellites and a weakening core has been key to managing risk and enhancing returns. Defensive ETFs like XLP, XLU, and XLV, along with bond funds like AGG and SGOV and the gold-focused GLDM, have offered strong, risk-adjusted performance this year. 

This flexible framework allows advisors to adjust portfolios to market conditions, client goals, or macroeconomic shifts while keeping costs low and transparency high. 

Finsum: Ultimately, it strengthens the advisor’s role as an active, thoughtful manager of client wealth without relying on expensive fund managers.

When evaluating a potential move to a new broker-dealer, it’s important to clarify key factors that will impact your control, income stability, and long-term success. 

1. For instance, understanding who owns the client relationships affects your future ability to manage your book of business. 
2. Frequent changes to the financial advisor compensation plan may signal instability, so reviewing their track record can help protect your income. 
3. Investigate how many practices the broker-dealer has attracted recently and why, as this reflects both its appeal and integration support. 
4. Assess how successful previous advisors have been at transferring their assets, since this can impact your business continuity. 
5. Leadership matters too—long-tenured CEOs often point to organizational stability and a consistent vision. 

Finsum: Also, recent enhancements to the advisor platform to see whether the broker-dealer is investing in tools that will genuinely support and grow your practice.

Custodian transitions can make RIAs anxious about losing clients, but careful planning and strong communication can significantly reduce attrition risk. On average, advisors may lose nearly 20% of client assets during a transition, but that figure often reflects poor preparation rather than an inevitable outcome. 

The key to a successful move lies in two areas: reinforcing client relationships and clearly explaining the reasons and benefits behind the change. Advisors should prioritize transparency without overloading clients with technical details, offering reassurance, a timeline, and emphasizing how the switch enhances service. 

Relationships that feel unstable before a transition may signal deeper issues, making them worth addressing whether or not a move happens. 

Finsum: Ultimately, sticking with a subpar custodian out of fear can hurt more than switching—especially if poor service impacts how clients perceive the advisor’s value.

Advisors are constantly asking where the wealth management industry is headed—who’s hiring, who’s losing talent, and which models are gaining favor. In response, the Advisor Transition Report was created to fill a gap: a clear, data-driven look at advisor movement that wasn’t available anywhere else. 

The latest report uncovers five unexpected insights, including the surprising uptick in recruiting despite market highs that typically encourage advisors to stay put. It also highlights the rise of boutique and regional firms like RBC and Rockefeller, which are gaining ground thanks to competitive deals and a balance of flexibility and support. 

Even firms often labeled as “losers” in the recruiting wars, such as Merrill and Edward Jones, made meaningful hires, proving the narrative is more nuanced than headlines suggest. Ultimately, this intelligence isn’t just for those considering a move—it’s essential knowledge for any advisor aiming to future-proof their business.

Finsum: Trends are shifting in recruiting and studies like this can help advisors and BDs stay abreast of advisors needs.