Displaying items by tag: advisors

Large brokerage firms are increasingly prioritizing shareholder value over advisor autonomy, creating an environment where advisors often no longer own their client relationships or control how they serve them. Years of gradual restrictions, including major firms withdrawing from the Broker Protocol, have made it harder for advisors to leave without legal or logistical barriers.

As compensation shrinks, support staff declines, and compliance tightens, many advisors find the economics of staying at large firms less compelling. Meanwhile, independent RIA platforms now offer robust infrastructure, modern technology, and far greater freedom, 

Clients themselves are more informed and loyal to their advisor rather than the firm, increasingly asking whether they can follow their advisor to independence. 

Finsum: With the heat rising in the wirehouse model, more advisors are recognizing that staying put could be the higher-risk choice.

Many advisory firms struggle with data overload and disconnected systems, leaving advisors buried in manual reconciliation instead of client work. 

After adopting an AI analytics tool that unified his systems, advisors can shift from static, outdated reports to real-time insights that flagged portfolio drift, client engagement changes, and emerging trends. Industry research reinforces this shift, with firms that embed AI reporting major efficiency gains and freeing teams to spend more time on strategic, insight-driven work. 

By automating even a single pain point—like performance drift alerts—this advisor’s firm reduced hours of manual tasks each week, improved client communication, and boosted team morale. 

Finsum: AI isn’t replacing advisors, but empowering them to make faster, clearer decisions by transforming scattered data into living intelligence.

A massive structural shift is underway as advisors leave traditional brokerages for independent RIA platforms, with billion-dollar breakaway teams now commonplace and virtually no one returning to wirehouses. 

The appeal starts with compensation: independent advisors often keep 60–65% of revenue versus 40–50% at big firms, while also gaining ownership, equity value, and access to record-high valuation multiples that can approach 20x EBITDA. Client demand accelerates the trend, as families increasingly prefer the transparency, personalization, and multi-custody flexibility that independent RIAs offer, features once reserved for ultra-wealthy family-office clients. 

The independent channel has also matured, evolving into a landscape of large, professionally managed enterprises with advanced technology, acquisition resources, and digital onboarding able to transition billions in weeks. 

Finsum: With rising valuations, regulatory tailwinds, and private capital flooding the space, independence is no longer a fringe option.

In an increasingly commoditized wealth management industry, broker-dealers must find smarter ways to grow, and that starts with helping advisors meet clients’ full financial needs. Clients today want holistic guidance that covers retirement income, wealth transfer, and protection against life’s risks, making insurance and annuities essential complements to traditional investments. 

Yet, many advisors hesitate to offer these solutions due to product complexity, fragmented systems, and time-consuming compliance requirements. Modern technology can solve these challenges by creating integrated, end-to-end workflows that simplify quoting, applications, and compliance, freeing advisors to focus on clients instead of paperwork. 

A unified digital platform can enhance accuracy, streamline documentation, and reduce operational risk, all while supporting scalability as regulations and client expectations evolve. 

Finsum: Firms that embrace connected technology empower advisors to deliver comprehensive advice, deepen client relationships, and drive sustainable long-term growth.

Two leading proxy advisors, ISS and Glass Lewis, have partnered with the Catholic University of America (CUA) to create investment voting guidelines grounded in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) principles. The collaboration, led by CUA professors Andrew Abela and Nicholas Schmitz, aims to ensure that investors’ proxy votes align with Catholic moral and social teachings. 

Under the new framework, proposals that conflict with Church doctrine—such as those funding abortion or gender-transition procedures—will be opposed, while issues without clear moral guidance will defer to company management or abstain.

After discussions with CUA, both firms recognized demand for authentic faith-based voting services and agreed to develop new policies faithful to Church doctrine. 

Finsum: The guidelines, can help advisors of build better connection for clients of faith, by offering an ESG alternative.