The Financial Industry is Changing 

We believe three long-term trends are re-shaping our industry, and changing the way financial advice will be delivered in the future:

• Regulatory Pressures: The era of fiduciary care is upon us. While commission business is still available, advisors will need to decide if it is worth the time, effort and risk.
• Client Pressures: Clients are more cost-conscious, have greater service demands, and want a more holistic approach to financial advice that covers all of their financial needs. Advisors are being asked to provide more service at the same time that technology and regulatory pressures are pushing fees down.
• Investment Complexity: Product proliferation continues unabated—there are now more mutual funds and ETFs than there are stocks. Volatile markets and complex products require the advisor to invest more time and effort to manage client portfolios—and fulfill their fiduciary duty.

Managing Change

The job of a financial advisor can be broken down into three parts:

• Managing and growing the business
• Managing and growing client relationships
• Managing investment portfolios

Even the very best advisors struggle to perform all three of these tasks at a very high level.  There just are not enough hours in a day.

Managing Change

“According to Darwin’s Origin of Species, it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that surivives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself” – Leon C. Megginson, ‘Lessons from Europe for American Business’ (1963)

We believe advisors who are proactive and embrace the changes taking place in our industry will continue to grow and thrive.  We also believe the best solution for most advisors is to partner with a team of investment professionals that can help manage your client’s assets without the typical challenges faced by home office models or do-it-yourself models.

 

Making the Transition to Advisory

The days of the stock broker are fading fast.  Successful financial advisors today embrace a holistic approach to wealth management and are more like the general contractor overseeing the construction of a new house.  He may not perform the plumbing, the electrical wiring, or the carpentry, but he makes sure the house is completed on time and under budget.  Advisors who partner with experienced professionals in the fields of investment management, estate planning, tax preparation and insurance are able to promote stronger and deeper client relationships.  Asset-based compensation also promotes alignment of interests and eliminates dependence on transaction- based commissions.

Better for the Client

Clients benefit from more guidance and advice, including a comprehensive financial plan, as well as a full-time investment management team who is constantly evaluating, monitoring and managing the investment portfolio.

Better for You

Studies have shown that, in the long run, building an advisory practice is much more profitable than building a brokerage business.  According to PriceMetrix 2015 Annual Report on the State of Retail Wealth Management, the average advisory return on assets (ROA) was 1.02%, while the average transactional ROA was 0.53% in 2014.