Displaying items by tag: wirehouses

According to a new research report from Cerulli Associates, financial advisors are retiring at a pace, faster than they can be replaced. The firm estimates that 109,000 financial advisors in the US will retire over the next decade. This is about 38% of all advisors in the US, representing about 42% of total assets. Overall, the industry needs to do a better job of investing in training programs and giving younger advisors more opportunities in client-facing and asset-gathering roles.

The report highlighted another trend as older, established advisors will continue to move into RIAs given more control and the ability to sell their practice. Currently, advisors over the age of 55, manage 56.7% of total assets, despite accounting for 42% of advisors. 

RIAs and independent broker-dealers saw headcount growth of 856 and 685, respectively, in the first 9 months of 2023. In contrast, wirehouses lost 612 advisors. This has been the case since 2008, and Cerulli forecasts that the share of advisors at wirehouses will go from 15.1% to 13.4% over the next 5 years.  

In contrast, RIAs are where growth is happening as most broker-dealers now offer some sort of RIA platform to entice recruits. There has also been consolidation, driven by private equity, with a total of 321 deals in 2023. 

Finsum: Cerulli issued a new report which revealed that nearly 40% of advisors will be retiring over the next decade. 

According to a recent announcement, Sanctuary Wealth lured a team with $1.5 billion in assets away from Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in The Woodlands, Texas outside Houston. According to Sanctuary, the seven-person group, which generated about $11 million in annual revenue, is the largest group by assets to join Sanctuary since its 2018 launch. The Merrill team is led by brothers Brent R. and Bradley C. Chappell who inherited the practice from their father, Robert D. Chappell, who retired from Merrill Lynch in 2019. The Chappells have known Sanctuary President Vince Fertitta “for many years” from his days working as a divisional manager at Merrill in Texas before his joining Sanctuary in 2019. Brent Chappell started on his father’s team in 2003 after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, and Brad joined three years later after graduating from the same school. The group also includes advisors Michael Mills and Spencer Carlson as well as support staff Chel Larkin, Jaymie Wendt, and Brianna Warren. As part of the announcement, Brad Chappell said the following, “By partnering with Sanctuary, we see real opportunities to grow our business that weren’t available to us previously and wouldn’t exist in a lateral move to another wirehouse.”

Finsum:A seven-person team with $1.5 billion in assets jumped from Merrill Lynch to Sanctuary Wealth due to opportunities to grow the business that weren’t previously available to them.

Recruiters and broker-dealer executives are gearing up for one final recruiting push this year before FINRA’s annual pause in registration. Brokers who want to change firms must move before December 22nd. That date is when FINRA halts its registration systems to generate year-end renewal statements. New registration requests for license requests and terminations will stop at 11 p.m. ET on the 22nd and then resume again on January 3rd. In anticipation of the pause, many wirehouse firms have already made plans to transfer licenses well ahead of the December 22nd deadline. For instance, Merrill Lynch set December 7th as its cut-off to prevent any foreseen registration issues. In other words, advisors don't want to be in a situation where have notified their old firms that they’re leaving but are unable to transfer accounts to their new firm. Also adding to the pause in recruiting in December is the preference of advisors to wait until the new year to change firms.

Finsum:Advisor recruiting is expected to temporarily cool down in December ahead of FINRA’s pause in registration on December 22nd. 

(Chicago)

There is a very large, but little-discussed issue when going independent. When you move from being an employee advisor to an independent, your health insurance situation can be difficult. Not only is there the issue of keeping your health insurance intact immediately following your departure, but you also need to establish a significant health insurance plan with an insurer that can support your current and future employees. So it is good news to hear that the Financial Services Institute has launched a new program aimed at helping advisors with this transition. Not only will the FSI help with transitioning, but they can also provide cost savings.

FINSUM: This seems like a very good idea. This is an issue for everyone transitioning to owning a small business, not just advisors. Learn more here

(New York)

Imagine you are an advisor at a big brand name broker-dealer or wirehouse. As much as you might gripe about your ever-changing compensation plan or the structures the firm puts in place, one thing you really like is that the logo on your business helps you win clients. Naturally then, losing that logo is a big challenge, both in terms of marketing, but also in terms you one’s own psychology. Therefore, when going independent it is critical to consider the marketing support you may receive. Many RIAs have next to none, or at least not much more than off-the-shelf options. However, some RIAs differentiate themselves through branding and marketing, such as leading investment concepts or customized marketing that empowers each advisor.

FINSUM: This might sound silly, but when considering whether to join an RIA google their name and check the Google News tab. Find key terms on their site (e.g. do they have any trademarked words?) and do the same. The firm’s marketing prowess will quickly become clear.